Forever Strong
by Keydiam
Summary: Riven and Diana were both deceived and betrayed by their former home. Betrayed from people, in which they believed. As Riven joins the League, to fight for her own conditions and show the world the true Noxian way, Diana enters to show all Valoran the power of the moon. As they meet each other, they start to realize they have more in common, than just a grim past...(Riven X Diana)
1. Arrival of the Exile

**Author's Note:  
**So..this is my first Fanfiction here. I'm not a native english speaker, so if you find some grammar issues please tell me (so I can improve myself). Otherwise..nothing much to say. Have fun!  
Update 2/11: Improved readability again (damn paragraphs! Never liked them at all! :P)

‟_They cannot go unpunished."_

_-Riven, The Exile_

‟_I cannot turn back."_

_-Diana, Scorn of the Moon_

**Chapter 1 - Arrival of the Exile**

The long dusty road, which lay before her, seemed to be endless. The street wasn't used very often. Little effort had been done to fix it, or to make it more comfortable for wanderers. She did not know how much time had passed, as she had lost her track of time possibly hours before.

Above her was the clear blue sky and the sun, which sardonically smiled down on her. It was hot. Sweat ran down her face and not a tree nor a trace of a shadow was to be seen within miles. Only dust and grass. She let out a stressed moan. Even the great mountains in the distance, did not seem to come any closer, even though she knew that she had walked this street for an entire day. But there was at least one advantage: No one could sneak up on her or attack her from behind.

She had never visited this part of the country, for which purpose then? Here wasn't anything of interest. The young woman stroked a flick of white hair out of her face and cracked her neck. Hell.. sleeping in the wilderness, wasn't very comfortable at some times. Days of endless wandering and marching wasn't something easy, even for an ex-soldier like herself.

Her boots were covered in the dirt and mud from the road and the rest of her clothing looked more like a bandit or raider from Noxus. The girl wore a simple white tunic and some sort of brown corset which held everything in place. A belt with some small pockets, filled with the few gold coins, she had. On her left shoulder was an old, green pauldron. The ravages of time faded away the color and the noxian emblem on it. Standard noxian military boots covered her feet, but even they had seen far better times.

Last but not least she wore a giant glove on her right hand. Some sort of green runes glimmered of it. In this hand, she wielded a giant sword. Or to be more right: The rest of it, as it was shattered at the blade. Green runes glimmered at the rest. A reminder of the magic, which once and most likely still resided within it.

Her name was Riven, ex-soldier of Noxus, former poster child of their army and now an expatriate, which wander around Valoran searching for a purpose, chasing a dream which fades away with every step and every day who passed.

'Why am I doing this again?', she asked herself for at least the twentieth time, since her departure before a few days. But like some machine, she walked on.

Today's designation was the Institute of War. Even though she did not know what she wanted there exactly. As the Institute was a political organization which try to prevent war between the nations of Demacia, Noxus, Piltover and Zaun. She herself as an expatriate, didn't have anything to do with it. A journey without a real purpose. But something...it felt like something was pulling her in the direction of it. Was it curiosity? The secret wish to show strength again? Whatever it was...it wasn't important to her right now.

After a few hours has passed, Riven only realized it because of her wandering shadow and the sun which was vanishing behind the horizon, she saw some buildings in the distance. Many, many buildings. She had learned from some merchants that at the slope of the mountain a small city was built. Merchants, vendors and innkeepers in short everything what was needed has settled down here.

‟Will my journey end here?", she asked herself and started to jog to reach the city before it was completely dark.

As she got closer to the city, she realized how big it was. It was far bigger, than Riven of the houses were modern and clean. Some looked like they have been finished before a week. The city was protected by only a about man-high wall, which most likely was there to hinder wild animals to enter the town and not to hold up a siege. But who was dumb enough, to attack a city when the mightiest magicians from Valoran lived right next door? Rivens way led her to a small gate, where some guards were controlling the people who wanted to enter the town.

‟Your wish?", asked some of the guards. Riven wrestled briefly, but then she decided for the plate truth.

‟I want to the Institute of War", she answered and she tighten the grip on the hilt of her sword.

‟The Institute huh? As you wish...you'll find it when you follow the main street. Go up the stairs and there you are. Come in...next one!", said the guard and waved her through. Riven nodded thankfully and entered the city.

She was welcomed by an unbelievable noise. Pitchman's were yelling at each other, hundred of different voices were chatting . Everywhere people were running around, coming from all nations and countries. Riven recognized it in the first place because of their clothing: While Demacians wore bright colors like blue and gold, Noxians tend to darker ones like black or a dark green. Sometimes they were glowing at each other angrily, but over all it was relatively peaceful. It did not happen very often, but Riven felt out of place with her torn clothing and armor.

She walked onward slowly, pushing herself through the crowd of people. She could briefly get a glimpse on some prices. They were horrific for someone like her. But still the shops were apparently full and at the stands many people lined up. She also heard slightly squeaky voices of some Yordle. Riven began to feel uncomfortable. Too many people in such a small area. Sometimes she got panic attacks because of that. It was this one fear, she could never defeat.

Suddenly something hard hit her in the back. A surprised: ‟Hey!", escaped her, before she fell on the ground. ‟Ouch", she grumbled low.

‟Oh..I'm sorry dear. I was in a hurry", said a female voice behind her. Riven was given a hand as she stood up, and eyed the one who jostled her. The woman before her, was wearing her typical cylinder and her even more typical clothing, which some would describe as too short. Caitltyn, the Sheriff of Piltover stood before her. Riven has seen Caitlyn a few times on the Fields of Justice. Many fights on the Fields were shown all over Valoran and the most times this was some sort of big event. As far as she knew, Caitlyn was an excellent marksman.

‟No problem Ma'am... Sheriff... ehm..could you describe me the way to the Institute?", asked Riven with her most respectful voice. Even though the guard has told her, she already felt lost.

‟Oh someone who knows me", Caitlyn replied with amusement, ‟well of course I can. Just follow this street and then to the top of the mountain. There you go." The Sheriff looked at Riven up and down.

‟Usually Noxus send his champions with more...glamour", she said in a calm tone.

‟Noxian ex-soldier", corrected Riven and her glance darkened. Piltover and Demacia were close allies and so Riven waited for some hostilities. But the Sheriff remained calm, most likely because of her job.

‟Interesting. Never thought Noxus let their soldiers just wandering off."

‟Complicated story", replied Riven in a frosty tone.

Caitlyn raised her hand: ‟I didn't want to provoke you or wake up some dark memories." Riven nodded. ‟I have to go now. Otherwise, my airship is taking off without me. Good luck in the Institute...what was your name again?"

‟Riven", she replied.

‟Good luck Riven, ex-soldier from Noxus." A short smile from Caitlyn, before she pushed herself through the crowd. Her sniper rifle on her back. 'I had imagined her...different", Riven thought. She shrugged and followed the description from her.

Rivens brown eyes looked up. She wasn't certain what she had expected, but what she saw now surpassed her imagination. A gigantic stone staircase led her higher and higher, step by step, stair by stair. On the top of that she saw the Institute of War. On every single stair, runes were written down, some in a language Riven couldn't decipher. Sometimes some humans were walking down the stairs. All of them wear purple or blue robes.

'That must be summoners', Riven thought. Some of them eyed here with curiosity. Half the way up Riven looked over her shoulder. The view was amazing. From up here she could see the whole city, the mountains and even farther to the horizon. Riven looked to the east, where Noxus was.

'Will I have the chance to come back there?', she asked herself and sighed. No. There was no way. Not as long as the High Command decided to use Zaunites chemical weaponry. She looked back to the staircase and get moving once more.

As she reached the top, she couldn't hold back her astonishment. The entrance of the league was gigantic. Huge pillars were holding the natural ceiling. It looked like the whole Institute, was beaten into the mountain. Summoners were everywhere alongside some champions and their followers. Some Demacians looked over at here. Two men of them were wearing golden shimmering armor and as their weapons a giant sword and spear. Garen, the Might of Demacia and Prince Jarvan IV, heir on the Demacian throne. On the other side of the entrance a young woman was leaning on one of the pillars. Long red hair, her iconic scar over one eye and far too many daggers on her leather clothing, Riven knew that this had to be Katarina du Couteau. The assassin glared over to her. Anger and hatred in her eyes.

'Stay calm...the League is neutral ground. No one can do anything', Riven thought. Not because she was scared. It was because she didn't want to start a fight, before she even officially joined the League. A man, which was even smaller than Riven, saw her and walked over. He was wearing a blue robe and a hood, which hide most of his face.

‟I have never seen you before. Welcome at the Institute of War. How may I help you?", he asked in a courteous tone.

‟My name is Riven...and I'm here because...I want to join the League", she answered hesitantly. Some other people were looking at them. Curious about her request.

‟Huh...I'll talk with a master summoner about your concern. Please wait here until I come back."

‟Ok", Riven said simply, as the summoner vanished behind a door on the other side of the hall.

‟So..so..so...the little traitor is still breathing?", said a sharp voice on Rivens right. She looked at this direction.

‟Katarina du Couteau...", she replied calmly and looked at the assassin.

‟Tell me Riven...how does it feel to betray your home?", Katarina said in a grim tone. Riven saw in her eyes, her infamous blood thirst and grabbed her sword tighter, but she decided not to respond to the provocation.

‟I never betrayed Noxus. It has betrayed itself, after it decided that 'Forever Strong' shouldn't be the motto anymore. Instead, it is 'Everything for the Win'. Ts..that even includes the own soldiers", Riven said in a calm tone, but she put up her guard for the case that Katarina decided to attack her.

‟You damn little bitch! Big mouth for someone who betrayed her own family!' Katarinas voice was angry and blood thirsty.

‟Noxus has betrayed everything for which it stands, after deciding not to distinguish between friend and foe and using these damn war machines instead of his own army!" Riven knew she had gone too far.

‟I'll kill you right where you stand! Then I don't have to hear your whining the whole time!" growled Katarina and disappeared.

'Shunpo!', Riven cursed in her mind and jumped forward. Katarinas throwing knife missed her closely.

‟Good reaction!", snarled Katarina and jumped onto her, wielding her giant daggers in each hand. Riven was able to parry her attacks. The sound of clashing blades filled the air. Summoners, Demacians and Noxians were coming closer and tried to separate them from each other. Completely in vain.

‟That's enough! Everyone back to your quarters!"

The mighty voice filled the air and a man walked to them. He was wearing the typical summoner clothing. His long white beard heralded from his older age. Riven didn't have much feeling of magic, but even she could feel the presence of this man. Katarina glared over to her.

‟When you have successfully joined the League...I will take great pleasure in killing you on the Fields of Justice, you fucking bitch!" She disappeared again.

'Great...another Shunpo..what a great start in the League', Riven thought and sighed. She looked to the master summoner.

‟We have reviewed your request of joining the League. Please..follow me into the Halls of Reflection. There you will get your judgment", the man said and went ahead, Riven was following him.

They walked through long, dark corridors in the Institute. While at the entrance there was some noise and chatting, as they went deeper the noises were quieter and quieter until the last sound died and the only thing which echoed from the walls were their steps. They stopped before some great doors, made out of solid stone. The master summoner made a simple hand gesture and the doors opened. The room behind them was completely dark, only a small circle of light was in the middle of the hall.

‟Enter...here we will decide your fate", the summoner said and Riven nodded silently. She doesn't know what to expect, so she entered without hesitation. The hall had to be giant, as her steps echoed. But she couldn't see anything, only the small circle of light. The doors were closed behind her and she swallowed.

'No turning back now', she thought and stepped into the circle of light. Suddenly she felt a flood of memories, coming over here and she passed out.


	2. Shadow of the Past

**Author's Note**

Chapter 2 wasn't an easy chapter to write. Everybody knows Rivens judgement, so I decided to put some other stuff within it. Oh and the names...It's a nod to Salvadora11 and ‟Guiding Light". Awesome Fanfic3

**Chapter 2**

**Shadows of the past**

The sound of marching boots filled the air, accompanied by the clatter of heavy armor and tumbling from some wagons filled with supplies. The thick and dense fog hung deep in the valley and blocked the sight of the soldiers. They could barely see a few meters in front of them.

But what they saw, gave them a chill in the back. Not far away the bodies of dead soldiers were piled up. Noxian and Ionian soldiers...there was no difference between them in death. Some were heavily wounded while some others were disfigured horribly. They were witnesses of the cruel effectiveness of Zaunites war machines.

It seemed that the thick fog, tried to hide the scene before them. But the stench of mud and decay stung in their noses and wrecked this meaningless try. One of the marching soldiers was Riven, officer of Fury Company and poster child of the Noxian armies. She gritted her teeth. Another valley and even more dead. She did not know, what the other soldiers we're thinking but she didn't take notice of it anymore. Their unit has orders which they execute without questioning. There will be a time to think about everything, but this time wasn't now.

The brown mud made a disgusting, smacking sound for every step they made. Riven looked down and between the whole dark brown, were small rivers of a red liquid. She felt a pang of nausea, but forced it out of her head.

'Focus' she thought. 'Focus is everything.' With one hand, she stroked over the green glowing runes on her blade. A rehearsed gesture without a real purpose, but it helped her so collect her thoughts.

'Only the strong survive. And always remember! You can only accomplish one thing at a time. In the midst of a battle many different things can happen. So stay focused then you will survive longer!' Riven heard the barking voice of her drill sergeant in her head. It was strange. She didn't remember the man very clear, but his instructions were burnt in her head.

'First the mission. That's important right now', Riven thought. Their mission was clear: They should catch up with the 42nd company and reinforce them. After that, there combined forces will push deeper into enemy territory. But the track which the 42nd left behind was...messy. The Zaunites war machines weren't called ‟melter" for no reason.

‟Why they don't surrender? That would reduce their pain", said a voice behind her. It was Dassel. A giant of a man, but with a bit lack of brainpower. When he didn't train, he usually talks about food.

‟Well...as if anyone of us knows. Can't tell ya", answered Krim with his heavy slum accent.

‟Psst...be silent. We don't know what awaits us here", said Sal. He was one lucky bastard. Didn't matter how grim the situation was, he could always get out of there somehow.

‟Any intelligence, Captain?", asked Ardus. A smaller man in the same age as Riven. His ability of dual wielding swords and other weapons we're unchallenged in the whole company.

‟Nothing. After 42nd crossed this valley the Ionians fell back", Riven replied and looked over her shoulder to Ardus.

‟I don't like it..I don't like it at all. It's far too quiet", he replied and Riven just nodded.

‟Stay sharp", said Brite another giant of a man. He wielded a powerful, mighty two hand axe. But he was very silent, to hear him talking was...unusual.

The High Command didn't expect such a hard resistance. They expected that the peace loving Ionians surrender under the military juggernaut of Noxian armies and Zaunite war machines. But instead most of them fought fanatically to stop the Noxian onslaught. Before a few days Riven experienced it by herself. Fury Company had attacked a small village. Noxian intelligence reported not a great military presence in this area, but the fight was nevertheless hard. And even though that the civil casualties increased by every hour and day, the Ionians didn't surrender.

Riven was impressed by their spirit and strength. But...nevertheless this wasn't the battle Riven had trained for. A battle was a test of her own strength. Only the strong survive, there was no place for weaklings and cowards. But...the Noxian High Command counted on Zaun's death machines. Far too many battles were won because of them. For Riven it felt wrong. But she was a Noxian soldier so she followed the orders.

The path the company took was called the Coeur Valley. This valley and path was one of the few, Zaun's war machines could take to pass the region of Shon-Xan. Before a few days the Ionians made a desperate last stand to stop the rolling army of war machines and soldiers. But Noxian spies and agents had reported this to High Command long before and ample countermeasures were taken, even before the melters arrived at the scene. Nearly the complete Ionian force was killed during the fighting.

‟Someone's coming!", said Ardus and pointed in front of them. Riven raised her hand and the unit stopped. A girl emerged from the fog, a couple of years older than Riven.

She mumbled something: ‟No..no...not more...please..stop." She fell to the ground and started weeping.

‟You two..get her", Riven ordered two soldiers while Ardus seem to be nervous.

‟What is it?", Riven asked silently, looking over her shoulder.

‟I can't tell...", he replied and shook his head, ‟Nevermind!" Riven looked at him with a puzzled expression, but then shrugged and looked forward.

Handling civilians was a chore for most of the soldiers. But it was tiring. Even though some companies were off to taking care of the civilians in the conquered territories. The two soldiers stood by the young girl, each of the was hoping the other one would take the lead.

‟Hey! Come on...we don't ha...", said Riven before a red mist appears before her. The girl had made a motion, too quick to catch up with the human eye. The two man fell to the ground. Dead. Riven stood there, completely still for a second. Then she realized it. She looked to her right and some of the supposed to be dead bodies, stood up again. Their eyes were very much alive. The whole fight for the valley was nothing more than a distraction. She recalled a conversation back in their camp. 'Hmpf...our spies are too carefully. That wasn't an army of Ionians. Not even half of the force they had reported.'

She yelled: ‟AMBUSH!" As the Ionians charged into battle.

‟They taken over our rear guard!", yelled some Noxian soldier before being stabbed by an Ionian sword.

‟Cover our back for fuck's sake! Don't let them surround us!", yelled Krim. Screams and clashing of weapons filled the air.

‟Fall back! Defensive positions!", screamed Riven while she drew a distress flare from her belt. Green light illuminated the entire valley, gave the scenery something unnatural.

She raised her sword as one Ionian attacked her. With a loud clang their swords clashed. Riven yelled and green runes on her sword started to glow. With another scream she released the energy in a Ki Burst. The Ionian stumbled and Riven used her chance and attacked. The man was cut in half with one swing of the mighty blade.

She looked around her. Dassel and Brite were fighting against three Ionians at the same time, while Ardus, Sal and Krim fought on par with their opponents.

'The strong will prevail', Riven thought and attacked another Ionian. ‟For Noxus!", she yelled and other soldiers answered. ‟For Noxus!" ‟Forever strong!" Riven wasn't this kind of person who surrender. When the Ionians win this battle, they won because they deserved it. But Riven wouldn't go down without taking a few more Ionians with her.

But slowly, her unit began to crumble. They were outnumbered and surrounded. For a brief moment Riven wondered how long they had lain here amongst the dead. Her arms getting heavier with each swung off her sword. She was bleeding from several wounds.

'At least..I die in the Noxian way', she thought before a bright flash and explosion erased everything else. A bright ball fell down before them, sending Ionians flying. At first Riven didn't realized what that was. Another one fell down, closer to her unit. Noxians and Ionians were hit equally.

‟That can't be...", said Ardus, while watching. Riven could see the horror in his eyes. Another ball was coming down, directly behind him.

‟WATCH OUT!", Riven yelled. Ardus looked back and before he could react, was hit. Riven looked directly at the explosion, could barely see anything. Then she felt something on her leg, a hand was grabbing her. She looked down and saw Ardus. His whole body and armor was burnt, his once friendly face, nothing more than burned flesh.

He moved his lips: ‟Get...out of..her...Riv.." He lost the grip around her leg and his head hit the ground. Then he was gone. Dead. Rivens mind was about to break. She couldn't understand it. Her mind refused to accept and understand it. There own artillery was firing at them. Zaun's war machines has opened fire on their own troops.

‟What...the fuck...?", said Riven silently and fell on her knees. She had never shown any feelings nor did she show any weakness. Her whole world was falling apart. She could feel tears ran down her cheeks. ‟Why...? Why...?", she repeatedthis one word. Over and over again. Then...she could hear some loud voice.

‟P.C.! Get the fuck out of here!" That was Dassel's voice. She felt a hand, which grabbed her back and then she flew. Dassel had thrown her, hard she hit the ground and looked back. Dassel, Sal, Krim and Brite...then three bright balls fell into them. Her brain couldn't take it anymore and she passed out.

She fell down in the circle of light. Tears running down her cheeks. She tried to stop them, but she couldn't. At least she didn't sob. She had lived with these memories for so long, had relived it over and over, but never so intensely like this time. Until today she never understood the true meaning behind this. She never understood why Noxus depends on Zaus chemical weaponry instead of his own army. And she never understood why they had opened fire on them.

‟Why I didn't see this coming? Was I so blind?", she asked herself. Riven tried to collect herself. She wiped her cheeks dry from the tears and looked up. The weeping girl stood before here, covered in blood and dirt.

Her voice sounded out of place as she asked: ‟Why do you want to join the League Riven?"

‟I..." She could barely speak. The memories were stuck in her head. She saw the dead Fury Company. The people which followed and trained with her the whole time.

‟Why do you want to join the League Riven?", the girl asked again. Impatient.

‟I don't know! I don't fucking know..." She banged her fist on the ground. Riven has carried these memories with her, closed deep within her. They were something she couldn't, she wouldn't share with anybody. ‟I still love Noxus and the Noxian way...but my whole life was a lie to that point. I...want to fight again. I want a purpose in my life again! But I will do it on my own conditions!"

‟How does it feel to expose your mind?", the girl asked once more.

‟Expose or not...it changed nothing", Riven replied and looked up. Only to find...nothing. The girl has suddenly vanished and she was alone in the great halls. She heard some rumbling behind her, as the doors opened for her. She tightened the grip around the hilt of her broken sword.

'My spirit is not lost', she thought and the green runes glowered a bit. 'I'll show them..the true Noxian way. Your deaths...will not be in vain.' And with that she stood up. She felt some sort of reassurance washed over her.

‟Welcome...to the League. Riven, The Exile", said a male voice as Riven leaved the Halls of Reflection.


	3. Champion of the League

**Author's Note**

Chapter 3+4 were put together into one. I don't like the fact off having too many chapters, so I decided to put some together.

**Chapter 3**

**Champion of the League**

The next morning...

Riven opened her eyes and at first she didn't realize where she was. But then it hit her. After she had left the Halls of Reflection one young summoner guided her to her new room. After she had entered and had aligned her thanks, she threw herself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. The long wandering without a rest and the..events from yesterday were too much for her. She didn't even ask why the League already had a room for her.

Now that she was awakened, she had time looking around. Her room wasn't very big, but for her it was enough as she didn't need much more than a bed. On the right side was a small kitchen and another door, most likely the bathroom. On the left side her bed in which she still lay. She also spotted some sort of television, where she could most likely watch and observe the League matches. 'Could be interesting to learn the styles of the others.'

But nevertheless the room suited her favor as it was decorated in a typical Noxian style. Somehow she felt at home. 'Huh..at least the League wasn't a bad choice after all', she thought and let out a yawn. It must be ages since she had felt so...comfortable.

Riven looked to her right on a watch. Eight o'clock in the morning. ‟Late enough", she mumbled and pushed herself out of her bed. She walked to the other door, which led her into a moderate bathroom. A warm, hot shower. She couldn't remember when she had one of them. She took a long shower to get her head and mind clear or at least collect and sort them. 'I wonder what will happen today', she thought while she washed the dust of her journey from her body.

As she was finished, again she didn't ask herself why some new and fresh clothing, which perfectly fit her, was lying in one of the cupboards and dressed up. It looked somehow like her travel outfit, but clean and not patched up like her old one.

Riven looked around the room. She spotted some book which was lying on a table. She read the title: ‟General information and guideline for the League." 'Well...they're very courteous', Riven thought. The room had everything she needed to have a somehow good life.

'But no answers', she thought and her mind drifted back to yesterdays events. And again, she asked herself what happened back then in Ionia. Was it possible that Zaun attacked without informing High Command? No that wasn't possible. She shook her head. ‟Tse...that's idiotic. I had not found an answer in the last years...how should I get one now?", she asked herself loudly. 'But...maybe the League has some', she added in her mind.

Her stomach grumbled loudly. 'Let's see if I can get some breakfast', she thought while pinning the back of her hair up and put on her boots. She looked at her sword for a moment, but then decided to take it with her. She was sure, nobody would have a great interest in a shattered sword, but better too cautious than not.

She was in a long corridor. Some torches and magical lights lit the long hallway. 'Eh..so which direction was the entrance?', she asked herself, but then she shrugged and just went right. As she passed some other doors, she noticed some sort of emblems and symbols on them. She recognized only a few of them as emblems from some champions. As she walked on, she noticed another thing. On some walls were a few signs. She stepped closer and saw that there were writings on them. One sign was saying: ‟Trainings Room" while the other two said: ‟Mess" and ‟Library". She followed them to the mess.

As soon as she entered the mess, she nearly forgot her hunger. The mess was a giant hall, filled with large tables. Like the entrance the ceiling was natural, but no pillars hold it. Sun light fell through giant windows on the left side. It looked like someone has cracked open the mountain and set windows in it instead of rocks.

Some other champions and summoners were already here and discussing with each other. While most of the humanoid champions would look like shining heroes on normal people, the mystical and magical were the ones that draw Rivens attention. She recognized some of them. At the far end of the hall was a giant bull sitting. Alistair, a former gladiator from Noxus. On the other side of the hall sat something like a giant blue-skinned troll. 'Huh..that has to be Trundle from Freljord', Riven thought. She also spotted some Demacians on the left side, while on the right side some Noxians were sitting. 'Oh...nice...at least fighting is not allowed", she thought sarcastically.

Riven walked to the far end of the hall, some summoners and champions were watching her but she didn't take notice. What she saw at the end of the hall opened her mouth. Multiple tables full of different food from all over Valoran. As she didn't have much money on her journey, she was starving. She took one, screw it two plates and filled them with everything what was looking eatable. As the plates were filled, she searched for a lonelier place. The hall was big enough, so that wasn't that hard. As she sat down, she began to devour her food. And god dammit, it tasted excellent.

She was nearly crying. Everything seems to be so easy in the League. A warm bed, something to eat, fresh and new clothing. 'Why I didn't join the League earlier?', she asked herself. She knew the reason somehow, deep within her. She was lost in all these years, without a real purpose. But...reliving this key moment in her life, the point of no return...it had somehow awaken something in her. 'For those who were lost', she thought.

Someone was coming to her table and sat down, right before her. At first Riven didn't realize it, as she far too busy with her food. But after the person coughed she looked up. A summoner was sitting before her. She was wearing a blue robe and a hood which hid most of her face. ‟You're Riven right? The new champion?", she asked with a cheerful voice.

Riven stopped eating and looked at the girl. She pulled back her hood and smiled. She had long blonde hair and clear green eyes. Overall, she was a small girl and not a warrior in any way. Riven assumed she was around twenty. ‟Yes. I am Riven...call me what you want. I don't really feel like a 'champion'", she replied slowly.

‟Alright then. I'm Elena! I'll be your summoner for today and I'm really glad of it to be the first one to summon you!", she said motivated.

‟My...summoner? I'm in a match today?", Riven asked. That was...surprising. She hadn't expected to be thrown in like this as she just joined the League yesterday.

‟Yes. No big deal, only some training for you and the other champions. I'll give you some advise during it. You just need to come to the summoning chambers once you're ready...and I just thought it would be good to talk a bit", the girl said in an over motivated tone.

Riven just looked at the girl. Her cheerful, motivated tone..well in Riven's mind, she saw some Demacia recruit trying to get attention from her superior by being over motivated and always cheering. A faint smile slipped on her face.

‟What is it?", the girl asked curiously as she spotted the smile on Riven's face.

‟It's nothing...I'm fine", she answered and took her more serious face on. She looked at the girl.

‟Well if you say so", Elena shrugged and took a bite of an apple.

‟Is there something I need to know? I hadn't enough time to read the guidelines", Riven asked. She didn't like it to be dependent on someone. But right now, she hadn't any other choice. She knew that the League had many special rules, tricks and so on.

‟Nah..not really. I'll tell you everything once you get there..." shortly the girl seems to be troubled, ‟You're first death will feel a bit..strange. No big deal, of course."

Riven bit her lip. 'My first death?' She remembered that some strange League magic prevents the champions from dying on the Fields of Justice. But she never thought, that she actually could...die.

‟Don't look so stressed! Cheer up! It isn't that bad you know...you see Garen over there?" The young summoner pointed in the direction of the Might of Demacia. Riven just nodded. ‟Well he died eight times in a row in his last fight. He looks pretty fine, don't you think?"

Riven just looked at Garen, who was discussing with Jarvan IV. Then they laughed because of something and clinked their glasses. ‟It seems so..", Riven replied slowly.

‟See? But you should tell me about your capabilities!", the girl smiled at her.

‟Capabilities? What do you mean?", Riven asked.

‟Well...you're a fighter right? From the look of yours and the big ass sword over there..I assumed right?" Riven nodded silently and Elena mumbled something about Doran's Blade.

‟Ehm..I have to say it isn't easy to tell you something like this. When I came into a battle I just fought and didn't think about it", Riven replied.

‟Huh...ok. We see it on the fields then, right? Won't be easy for me to learn from you. But fine then! Do you have something on your mind?"

‟Right now..no", Riven replied. She didn't know what Elena mean with 'learn from you' but it didn't matter. Or at least she hoped so.

‟Ok then. If you need help or any advise, just ask me ok? I'll be waiting then in the summoning chambers! See you Riven!", the girl said in her cheerful voice and walked away.

Riven watched her as she walked away. She didn't know what to think of her. But she had other things in her head right now. What troubled her far more than her young summoner was the upcoming match. Sure, it was just training. But she didn't like it to be the weakest and most useless part of a group. She hadn't been one of the youngest Noxian officers for no reason.

'Huh, well..I don't have any saying in this matter', she thought and stood up, leaving the rest of her food on the plates. She grabbed her sword and without any hesitation stepped out of the mess hall.

It wasn't that hard to find the summoning chambers as they were the most important thing in the whole League. The big doors opened by themselves and behind them was a giant hall. Summoners were standing all around, talking to some champions. In the middle was some kind of pedestal. Blue runes and magical circles were written all over it. Riven could feel the flow of magic in this area. She spotted Elena, who was talking to some older summoner. Riven went to them, cleared her throat and both of them looked to her.

‟There you are! Just in time!", Elena said and the Elder nodded.

‟Alright. We will begin the match right now. As for you Riven...do what Elena wants you to do", the Elder said and Riven just nodded. Excitement filled her.

'Calm down and focus', she thought and tightened the grip on her sword.

‟Everyone else on your positions. The League match will begin now!", the older summoner yelled. Some other champions stepped on the pedestal together with their summoners.

‟Ok. Come over here Riven", Elena said and pointed at the top of the pedestal. Riven walked the few stairs up and stepped into the rune circle. Finally she saw her teammates. At least there were all most likely humanoids. She recognized Ashe, the Frost Archer and Leona, the Radiant Dawn. One of the others was a giant dog-like creature, which walked on only two legs. He was wearing some kind of long halberd and some kind of golden armor. The last one looked foxy on Riven. She had some kind of furry ears, but the far more interesting were her nine fluffy tails. As Riven continued to stare at her, she looked over and blew her a kiss. Riven blushed slightly and looked away.

‟Begin the summoning process!", the Elder spoke loudly and the summoners began mumbling words.

‟Just stay there Riven..don't move..", Elena mumbled and attuned with the other voices.

Riven stood completely still while some kind of blue lights began to surround her body. As the light reached her eyes. she closed them and suddenly she was away. It felt like floating between worlds.

She remained calm and kept her eyes closed. Suddenly she felt ground under her feet.

_Ok...open your eyes Riven_, a voice said in her head which sounded like Elena. Riven followed the order.

She stood on some platform, closely resembling the pedestal from the summoning chambers. The clear blue sky was above her and the other champions were here too. 'So...this is Summoners Rift then?', she thought and looked over to some kind of big building most likely the Nexus. Six big stone statues were holding some kind of crystal over them.

Their base had three different entrances, everyone into another direction. Some towers and smaller buildings, which looked like the Nexus, protected them.

_Yes..this is Summoners Rift. Go to the fancy looking guy over there and pick up a Doran's Blade, a health potion and the warding trinket. Oh, and..you can communicate with me by simply thinking about it _, Elena said in her head. She sounded more concentrated but still motivated.

'If you say so', Riven thought and walked over to the shop. The others were already there and spoke about something. Riven didn't pay attention and instead looked over the display. There were many, many different badges and symbols. Everyone had a price under it. She searched for the items Elena had said and finally found them. She picked up a badge showing a little purple sword. 'What do I do with that?', she asked her summoner.

_Just put it on your sword. The magic within this badge will strengthen you,_ Elena answered.

Riven simply followed the order and pressed the badge against her blade. The badge broke up and some kind of purple lights flew into her sword and body. That felt...great. 'Magic powers for everyone', Riven thought while looking for the two other items. She took the health potion, which was some kind of little flask with a red liquid in it and the trinket. The trinket was nothing more than a small token with some yellow plant on it. A display next to the badges showed her money count. Zero.

‟Alright..let's get it done. Riven? Be careful up there ok?", Leona said to her and Riven nodded.

‟I will", she replied.

‟Alright..everyone on your positions. Nasus..focus on the top lane. She will need more help." Leona nodded and walked off with Ashe to the bottom lane.

‟I will be there. But don't overextend", replied the giant dog like creature while wandering off into the territory known as the jungle. She knew it. They were seeing her at the weakest part of a chain.

_No stress Riven. Show them what you can do_, Elena said in her head with an encouraging tone in her voice.

‟You looked pretty...interested?", the foxy creature suddenly said and giggled while watching Riven.

‟Ehm..well...I've never seen someone like you", she answered. This..girl has some kind of magic aura around her. Somehow Riven felt..attracted to her?

‟You're not the first one who said that. Just call me Ahri but I have to go sweetie. We can have more fun when this little game here is over. See you around", the fox said, winked at her and walked off to the middle lane. Some kind of pure magic ball, floating in her right hand.

_Well..well Riven..you didn't fall for Ahri's charm, did you_, Elena asked in her head while giggling a bit. Riven shook her head and looked away from the stunning fox. She looked in the direction of her lane and walked on. As Ahri was walking away, the strange magic aura disappeared.

'No, I didn't. Besides that had to be some magic tricks. Better tell me what happen now', Riven replied in her head. The whole thing was strange enough and to have a giggling, girlish summoner in her head, didn't make it easier.

_I can hear you, Riven. _

'Shit..I didn't mean to...'

_It's ok. I mean you're right in some way. _Elena's voice became serious again. _Well, go to the second tower and wait there until..._

‟**Minions have spawned!"**, a voice called through Summoners Rift just as Riven passed the first tower. She looked behind her and some small creatures appeared next to the Nexus. They wore purple robes and hoods and some sort of little weapons, which looked more like toys to Riven. They passed her without noticing. Riven kept up with them.

'I should follow them right?', she thought.

_That's what I wanted to say._

Riven looked over to some trees and bushes. Some kind of strange fog, blocked her view into the jungle. She could only see a dozen of meters. It reminded her of yesterday and she felt a stung in her heart. She looked back to the minions and towers.

_Oh shit. I saw it now, _Elena said in her head and sounded kind of worried.

'What is it Elena? Bad news?', Riven asked while she passed the second turret.

_You're up against...Prince Jarvan himself. He's a pretty tough guy, _Elena answered.

'Sounds good to me', Riven replied. The heir of the Demacian throne. Well, that was a challenge she gladly accepted. 'I'll show him how true Noxians are fighting', she thought and passed the third turret.

The blue minions arrived at the scene and instantly they began fighting with Riven's. They hit each other with some small magic spells and their toy looking weapons. Riven looked around, searching for her enemy to appear. But he was nowhere to see. In her lane were three separated bushes, the grass was thick and high enough to hide anyone within it. She held her distance to them.

_Do you see the bush near the river? Use the trinket there_, Elena said in her head.

Riven followed the order and took the trinket from her belt. She threw it into the bush and instantly some kind of yellow-green plant grew. And if that wasn't enough the fog and grass thinned somehow.

_Thanks. I'll warn you if I see someone coming...now focus on the minions. Kill the blue ones which are badly hurt. You'll earn some gold for it_, Elena explained in her head.

Riven looked at the minions. There. The one with a hammer looked very struck. She walked over and slammed her sword in the head of it. She heard a faint sound of gold coins which tinkled at each other when she killed the minion. She continued with the more or less brainless task, but kept her eyes peeled for Jarvan.

Another wave of minions arrived at the scene, but suddenly a Demacian standard was rammed beside her into the ground.

_Watch out Riven!_, yelled Elena in her head.

‟DEMACIA!" With a yell Jarvan IV jumped out of one of the bushes and rammed his mighty lance into the ground. The blow was so hard, the earth began to shake and walls of earth surrounded Riven and the prince. Riven fought to stand on her feet.

‟Bring it on Noxian!", Jarvan yelled and attacked her. Riven knew about the extending lance from the prince and rolled to the side, avoiding the otherwise deadly attack, which would have most likely impaled her.

Quickly she stood up and dashed forward. Then Riven unleashed a series of heavy blows, while using the runic powers in her sword to enforce them even more. Jarvan was able to parry most of them, but at least one time she hit him heavy in his breastplate.

He stepped back and readied his weapon for another attack. And this time Riven wasn't fast enough to dodge it. The lance hit her in the abdomen. She coughed blood, but oddly enough, it didn't hurt that much as she thought it would. Jarvan withdrew his weapon and prepared for the fatal blow.

‟I will not go down that easy!", Riven yelled and jumped forward again, unleashed all of the runic power at once in a Ki Burst. His lance was a dangerous weapon on long distance, but in close combat her half shattered sword was far better. But Jarvan was fast enough and threw out another banner and pulled himself to it by using is lance. He grabbed a health potion from his belt and drank from it.

The walls of earth crumbled around Riven and fell to the ground. No trace was left only a few patches of the grass were now brown from the earth.

‟Ha...good fighting there Noxian", Jarvan said while killing a minion with his lance. Riven just nodded and took her own potion. She could feel how the pain ceased away. Or at least a bit. For now, both of them were concentrated on killing minions from each other, while holding some distance.

They went on with their task, but then Jarvan threw out another standard, close to her. Obviously preparing for an attack. Riven put her guard up and prepared for a counterattack.

_Be prepared Riven...this will help you out_, Elena said in her head with a mysterious tone.

'Prepare for wha..', Riven thought, but then Jarvan attacked her. He pulled himself to the standard and struck with his lance at her. Riven parried the attack with ease, but then she felt a weight in her right hand, she hadn't felt in years. Lance and sword pressed against each other. Not a broken sword no. It was fully assembled. Jarvan withdrew from her and looked at the giant sword.

‟What the...", Riven said and looked at it. The blade was complete. A green glowing hold everything together. She even felt the whole runic power within the blade. ‟What did you do Elena?", she asked loudly and looked in the sky shortly.

_I assembled your weapon. I can't discuss that with you right now. How do you feel?_, she asked.

'I feel...great', Riven thought. It was like a short moment of clarity. Everything was so clear before her. Suddenly she knew what to do, she knew a purpose. It felt like the darkness in her mind had been washed away.

‟I will show you the true Noxian way", Riven said to Jarvan and dashed forward. She attacked with her full might and power. Jarvan was quickly overwhelmed by her pure strength. But he didn't go down without a fight. Jarvan hit her a few times in the leg, arm and even closer to her throat. He threw out another standard and pulled him away from her, badly injured from Riven's mighty strikes.

_I can't hold it up for long Riven..you need to finish him_, Elena yelled in her head.

Riven remembered a technique, which she hadn't used in years. She collected energy on the sharp side of her blade and released it with a loud scream. A wave of pure, green energy hit Jarvan in the back.

‟**First Blood!"**, the voice of a woman yelled over Summoners Rift while Jarvan fell to the ground and his body disappeared in a blue light. Riven's blade disappeared as quickly as it had come. Now without the runic energy, Riven felt how weak she was. Blood dripped out of her wounds and she coughed multiple times.

_Back to the tower Riven! Fast! Nidalee is coming!_, Elena said. But it was too late. Even before Riven could turn around, she saw a spear flying into her direction. She felt how the spear pierced through her breast and impaled her. The last thing she remembered was a voice, which said: **‟Riven has been slain!" **Then she blacked out.

There was only silence. Riven felt like in the summoning process. Floating between worlds. Not really dead, but not alive either. She still clung to her sword. Her eyes were closed and she breathed quietly. 'So...this is dying? It doesn't feel that bad...', she thought. 'Actually...no pain, no duties, no fights...only silence and eternal sleep...no...it's not bad.' Suddenly a voice was back in her head. It was Elena.

_Hold on a second..you'll be back...now!_, she said.

Riven felt the ground under her feet and heard the sound of some birds and the sound of small marching boots. She opened her eyes. She was back and stood on the platform, where the match had begun. She looked down on her. No blood and no wound. She felt fine.

_How...was your first death? Any trouble?_, Elena asked carefully.

'It didn't feel that bad...and no. I'm fine. Only a slight headache', Riven replied.

_Well...good! Let's get back to the match shall we? A Vampiric Scepter will help you out. Let's win this!_, Elena said.

'If you say so...oh and by the way. You need to explain one thing to me: How did you summon my whole blade?', Riven asked while searching in the display.

_I'll tell you everything, once the match is over alright? Now it's not the time nor the place_, Elena answered.

'Huh...ok', Riven simply replied while picking up the scepter and running back to the lane.

**In the meanwhile...**

‟Why do you want to join the League Diana?" The man which stood before her, wore a bloodied robe of the Solaripriests. She knew that she had killed him only a few minutes ago. It had to be some kind of magic trick. She stood up from her kneeling position and pointed with her blade at his throat.

‟The Solari had denied me and the power of the moon. They left me no other choice. I will be heard and all of Valoran shall see the truth", the woman answered. She wore a dark blue-silver colored piece of armor and a big sword, resembling a khopesh. A blue symbol glowed on her forehead. It looked like a full moon and a crescent moon, which lay on its side. Her silver eyes glared at the Solari.

‟How does it feel...to expose your mind?", he asked. His voice was calm, although a weapon was aimed at his throat.

She needed time to answer to this question. She lowered her weapon. ‟I don't have anything to hide. It changes nothing", she replied, somehow harshly.

‟Is that so?", the Solari asked and disappeared into nothing.

‟It is", she said quietly to herself.

The giant stone doors behind her opened. A voice echoed through the Halls of Reflection. Diana turned around and left this place while a voice said: ‟Welcome to the League Diana, Scorn of the Moon."


	4. A Tale about Swords and Stars

**Author's Note**

As I stated before I reworked some chapters into bigger ones. Chapter 5+6 were put into one.

**Chapter 4**

**A Tale about Swords and Stars**

**Two days later in the morning...**

With a scream she released the runic energy in a strong Ki Burst. A hard punch into the face of the big minion let it fly through the whole room against a wall. It disappeared. Riven turned around and send another one flying with a kick into its side. A third one was sliced in two as she attacked it with her Broken Wings technique.

‟Twenty one", she counted and killed three other minions by kicking them against the walls. She wasn't that skilled in unarmed combat, she only learned the basics in the Noxian military, but against this mindless drones it was somehow effective. ‟Twenty four", Riven said and new minions spawned on the other side of the room and attacked her.

She was in one of the many training rooms of the League. The rooms had everything a champion could possibly want. Moving targets for target practice for champions who preferred range combat, mannequins equipped with shields and armor for close combat experts and so on. Not many champions used them though. As they were open for everyone, someone could study their movements and weaknesses, something most of them didn't want. So they practiced on the outside.

For Riven it didn't really matter. She did not have a particular fighting style or something like this. Surprising movements and unexpected attacks, that was how to win a battle. And the room in which she was, was perfect for stamina training and to improve her movement. Not that she really needed that, but it helped to focus on something and to stay in shape. The food was far too good!

It was a big room, completely without any furniture or something like this. A white hall without anything in the way. In this room minions spawned constantly. It was an endless battle. And more or less a brainless training, but a good start for a warm up in the morning. Nevertheless, if she wanted stronger minions could spawn. But right now this wasn't necessary.

While Riven continued to kill minions, she thought about the events from the other day. After the match, which her team had won even though she died a few times, Riven had spoken to Elena. She had avoided direct answers, how and why the League could bring her blade back. All she said was that the older summoners thought it would be a good idea, to bring her back to her old power. It had worked...in some way. Riven wasn't very sure what to think about it.

Elena even said, she could summon her whole sword by her own. Riven refused to believe that. She didn't have any magic power in her blood. Only the runic energy of her sword. But Elena insisted that they train together and that she could do that. 'I don't have much to say in the League', Riven thought while slicing two minions. 'They tell me..do this and do that. And I have to obey...back in the past, huh?", she thought sarcastically.

On the other days nothing much had happened. Every day she was summoned on the fields to fight another battle. She had won every single one, which had earned her some respect amongst the other champions and summoners. She wasn't traded as a complete rookie anymore.

She even heard about the new champion, which joined shortly after her. She saw her once in the mess, eating alone in one corner. What she knew so far was that her name was ‟Diana" and she held a grudge against Leona and the Solari. Also the words ‟betrayed by her own people" hung in the air. But she didn't know anything else.

'Betrayed by her own people...', Riven thought slowly. 'I knew that feeling far better than most others...could be interesting to meet her.' Even though Riven knew that someone with such a past, wouldn't go around and talk to everyone about it. She didn't do it either. Nevertheless, she felt a strange connection and the wish to meet her. 'Two outcasts in the League, huh?"

‟Fifty! That's enough", Riven said loudly and the minions stopped attacking her and slowly disappeared into nothing. She didn't even sweat. At least her muscles were awoken and warmed up. She left the training room through a door and entered the main area.

'Speaking of the devil...', Riven thought. One other person was in the room, sitting on the ground. She had closed her eyes and seemed to meditate. Her khopesh like sword lay over her knees and glowed with silver light. Diana. She opened her eyes as she heard the sound of the closing door behind Riven.

‟Didn't thought someone would be here...", she said in her calm but somehow cold voice. It reminded Riven of a cold night, where only the full moon illuminates the world. She had heard that Diana's title was ‟Scorn of the Moon". It suited her.

‟Well..I can say the exact same thing. You're Diana right?", Riven asked in a neutral tone. She wasn't sure what to expect from Diana, so she approached her carefully.

‟I am. And you?", Diana replied and stood up, picked up her sword and looked at her. Riven looked at her silver colored eyes and the glowing symbol on her forehead. Diana's face didn't show any emotions only a cold stare nothing else.

‟Riven. What are you doing here?", she asked. She knew this question was somehow dumb as they were in the training rooms. But Diana answered anyway.

‟Some sort of...training I think. But nothing really special. I suppose you're here because of the same thing right?" Diana looked at her. Somehow Riven thought that behind the silver shimmer and the cold stare, she had eyes which saw horrible things. Eyes full of pain.

'I have the same..haven't I", she thought before answering: ‟Yeah you're right..." Shortly she looked around then back to Diana. ‟How about a little practice with me?", she asked. She didn't know why she asked Diana in the first place, but it was most likely because she didn't know what else to say. Beside of that, she could learn something from Diana. 'A sword mirrors it's owner.'

‟Practice? With a Noxian huh?", Diana said and pointed at the rest of Riven's armor.

‟Former Noxian", Riven answered reflexive. Diana raised an eyebrow. She seemed to be...surprised somehow? Riven was used to this sort of reaction.

‟Didn't want to offend you. Well...why not?", Diana said and got into a fighting stance.

‟Alright. Get ready", Riven said and readied her weapon.

They circled each other, waiting for the first strike. Then Riven decided to go for it. She dashed forward and struck Diana's breastplate. She dodged by stepping to the side.

The League magic registered the fighting between the two champions. Shortly both of them were surrounded by a blue light, which disappeared as fast as it came. Riven knew what happened. Even when they would kill each other now, the summoners could bring them back to life. It was the same strange magic, which worked on the Fields of Justice. It should prevent..."accidents" within the League.

The clashing of swords filled the trainings room as they both exchanged blows at each other. It looked like a more or less deadly dance as they tried to hit each other.

They were both equally good. Even though Riven began to use all of her sword fighting skills, she couldn't hit Diana at least once. Same thing for Diana. After ten minutes of fighting, Riven went two steps back and lowered her sword. Sweat ran down her face.

‟It's been a long time, since I fought someone on par", Riven said in an impressed tone.

‟Tired already huh?", Diana replied, breathing heavily, while looking at Riven.

‟You're in the right spot to say something like that", Riven answered and a faint smile was on her lips.

‟Put your guard up former Noxian...this time it won't get easy", Diana said and her blade started to glow in a color, which reminded Riven of moonlight.

‟Bring it on." Riven got into position again and lifted the blade, ready to parry Diana's attack.

A flash of silver moonlight filled the room and burned in Riven's eyes. Even though she was a fast fighter, she had never seen someone like Diana who rushed at her. It nearly was nothing more than a bright flash of light. The attack of her sword barely missed Riven and only because she jumped back and let herself fall on her rear.

The time stood still for a split second. Riven kicked against Dianas abdomen. Diana let out a light groan before she fell on the ground, breathing heavily. Both of them sat and lay there for a moment.

‟You're the first who could avoid this one...", Diana said impressed and looked over to Riven, which got up into a sitting position.

‟Well..that was..unexpected", she replied while rubbing her back. The hard floor wasn't made for a fall like this. ‟If I have to guess..I would say that was the power of the moon right?"

‟Yes it was. Why?", Diana asked. Her voice got a few tones colder.

‟Nothing. I'm just interested. I have never seen a technique like this before...", Riven replied while standing up. Diana followed her example and stood up too.

‟So you respect the moon and the night? You don't deny it?", she asked. Her voice somehow got eager.

‟I respect anyone who showed me strength...in the true Noxian way. And you did it..I mean you almost beat me", Riven answered and earned a little nod from Diana. ‟And..why should I deny it? I mean...I saw it with my own eyes."

‟Well, then you don't know the Solari very well...", Diana replied slowly as if she was somewhere else.

‟I don't know much about the religions from Mount Targon...I was there only once, for a very short time", Riven said. Diana looked back at her.

‟Tse...they denied me and nearly got me killed as a heretic. They deny the truth and close their eyes before it. You're one of the few...who don't do that. You got my respect for that", Diana said, with a hint of a smile.

'Then it's true what I heard about the Solari', Riven thought before nodding at Diana. ‟Well...thank you for that", she answered a little bit embarrassed. ‟Let me ask you another question...do you have any idea when your first match will take place?"

‟No. I wasn't summoned in the last days. Most likely because Leona was in every single match", Diana snarled quietly.

‟Huh..I understand", Riven replied. She remembered that Leona grumbled about something in one of the last matches. 'Sun and moon in constant rivalry", she thought.

Suddenly Diana was surrounded by a few blue lights which circled around her. From her feet up to her head. First slowly, then they got faster. Slowly Diana began to disappear.

‟Huh..speaking of it. The summoners call me. My first match is about to begin", Diana said while looking at Riven.

‟Now? Without the summoning chambers?", Riven asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't know that this was possible.

‟As far as I know the most powerful summoners don't need them...well...until later", Diana paused for a moment before she continued, ‟Riven."

‟See you soon..Diana", Riven replied and the Scorn of the Moon disappeared into nothing, leaving only air behind. 'Well..that was..unexpected. Time for some breakfast, I think", Riven thought and left the training room.

As soon as she entered the mess, which was filled like every other day, a well known voice yelled her name: ‟Riven! There you are!"

It was Elena. And she was in a very good mood. If you can say that from a person who always was far too motivated and cheerful. ‟Elena? What is it?", Riven asked the young girl.

‟At first: Good morning. Well...how are you?", she asked with a smile.

‟Ehm..fine, I think", Riven answered while she thought about Diana. After the little fight and the conversation the strange connection which she felt before strengthened. 'Strange', she simply thought, while looking at Elena with her most neutral face.

‟Gooooood to know! I'm here because I wanted to tell you, that our training will begin tomorrow in the evening!", Elena said in her cheerful voice.

‟Okay...where do we meet? The trainings room?", Riven asked.

‟No...far too small and I don't think it suit for this kind of practice. Better meet me in the park behind the Institute. And don't forget your sword! I need to go already! My lessons are about to begin! See you!" Elena ran out of the mess, nearly crashed into Alistair who just entered and then disappeared in the corridors.

Riven watched this whole spectacle with some amusement. 'This girl...gosh. She has more energy within her than in a whole Demacian company of soldiers", Riven thought while she was getting some of the food and sat down. 'Tomorrow in the evening..well, let's see what she wants me to do.'

**The next day...**

Riven walked through the long corridors of the Institute. Her sword by her side. It was early in the evening, the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. She only knew that because the mess was lit by some lights on the ceiling and not only the sun. Against her habit, she didn't put on her armor. Only her normal travel outfit.

As she searched for a sign, which would lead her to the park, she thought about what would happen next. She didn't feel any excitement or anything like this. She couldn't describe it very well, but it felt somehow wrong. She broke her sword for a reason, back then in Ionia. And now everything should be forgotten? She could just bring it back?

On the other side, she remembered the feeling of wielding a complete blade against Jarvan. This feeling of strength and clarity. 'You don't know what do you want right?', she asked herself and let out a sigh of annoyance. She didn't have much choice right now.

A faint light in the distance drew her attention to it. The smell of fresh air and trees was in the air. Riven walked towards it and stepped outside of the League.

What she saw now was kind of unique. The whole park had to be on one mountain top. Above her was a clear orange sky. The moon was already there. It wasn't a park in a classical way. It was more like a whole forest in which some strange order ruled. Some magical lights danced between the trees and lit the way. Even though Riven didn't need the lights as it was bright enough to see.

She walked into the forest and looked around. Some creatures and small animals were heard, but nothing dangerous in any way. ‟Elena you're here?", Riven asked loudly while looking around. She ventured deeper and stepped into a clearing. It was not a normal clearing in any way. She felt a presence like the elder summoners stood right here. But she did not see anyone.

‟Someone's there?", she asked silently and tightened the grip around her sword. She looked around. Then a rustling bush. Riven raised her weapon, ready for an attack. But the person who walked out of the bush, was well known to her. It was Elena. Her eyes widened as she saw the weapon.

‟Woah woah..what do you want to do with your sword?", she asked and crouched a bit before Riven, which lowered her sword.

‟I'm sorry. Didn't want to hurt you or something like this...I felt some strange presence and heard noises. I'm careful', Riven answered. 'Strange..it's away', she thought and looked at the young summoner which wiped a few branches off her robe. She grumbled silently about dirt and earth.

‟Had someone followed you?", Riven asked quietly.

‟I don't think so...what is it?", Elena asked and looked around.

‟Nothing. I felt a strange presence...but it..just vanished", Riven replied suspiciously.

‟Well..could be some other summoners. You know the park is often visited by people who want some peace and silence. Some elders do that from time to time too", Elena explained. She sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up to Riven, which followed her example. Her sword lay over her knees.

‟If you say so...well. Could you explain it to me? The whole sword thing I mean." Riven looked Elena into the eyes and waited.

‟As I told you the other day...you will be able to summon it by yourself. So you can come back to your old power of your pure will. I know what you think: 'I'm not a magician or something like this'. But everything you need is there", Elena pointed at the remains of Riven's sword.

‟My blade?" Riven grab the hilt and raised her sword. Moonlight reflected in the sharp side.

‟Yes. It's filled with magic. You're already able to use it quite well...I mean we all saw it on the Fields," Elena explained further.

Riven just nodded. She didn't think that the simple runic powers within her sword would be enough. She had learned the capabilities of her sword by doing and fighting. ‟So you're trying to tell me...that I capable of using this magic? Like channeling it and summon the pieces? It's just a matter of training and willpower?" Her voice was full of doubts. The pieces of the sword were most likely somewhere in Ionia. Shattered and forgotten.

‟Most likely. You never asked yourself why you're able to simply use this kind of runic energy? You have some talent within you. Let me be clear: You're not a real magician or summoner", Elena smiled encouraging, ‟but you're able to use the magic which is bound into your sword. You need to learn bit by bit..it's like solving a puzzle." Elena's voice was getting a bit quieter at this point. ‟The elders told me that your mind and spirit isn't in balance...you cannot forgive yourself can you?"

That hurt. Riven looked to Elena, which decided to look to another side. ‟Let's just say...things happened for which I cannot forget nor forgive myself. There's...too much blood on my hands", Riven replied slowly. ‟I try to fight and show the world a true Noxian..but in the inside..well you said it."

‟Sorry I didn't want to hurt you...", Elena smiled at her and Riven just nodded. ‟Well..because your spirit is not in balance..it will be hard for you to master the summoning process."

‟You're telling me..I cannot use the full potential because I'm not at peace with myself?"Riven frowned and looked at her.

‟Yes. It is not impossible...but rather hard as for someone who is in balance. When you're completely convinced of your doing and fighting, it's easier for you to focus on the important things. You understand?", Elena asked.

Riven just nodded. 'So...I'm in the way of myself', she thought.

‟But anyway..let me explain it how you can summon your sword. Let me say..what I had seen so far was good for a start. You can control the runic energy quite well", Elena explained.

‟So..that is what you meant by 'learning from me' right? You wanted to see me fighting..and how good I am at controlling this", Riven said and looked down to her sword. The green runes glimmered slightly.

‟Yeah. I needed to know your capabilities", Elena replied. ‟Let me explain..at first you need to concentrate. You need to feel the magic within the sword...feel the flow of it. It's like...using your Ki Burst. But in an other league...you understand me? Clear your mind and meditate", Elena said slowly.

Riven just nodded and closed her eyes. Her hands lay on the hilt and blade of her sword. ‟Relax...feel the magic", Elena whispered silently. Riven tried to push away any doubts, any thoughts and focused only on her blade. She felt the runic energy how it was pulsing. But there was something else...doubt and guilt. It felt like a copy of her own mind. Like a broken mirror. It was like looking into herself.

'I lie to myself do I?', she thought. She couldn't push away the guilt. She was responsible for the deaths of hundred. How she could be in balance with herself with such a guilt? A sword mirrors its owner. That statement was truer then she believed. She tried to stay focused on the energy, the magic within her sword. But it was hopeless.

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked to Elena, which observed Riven curiously. It was completely dark around them. Only a few magic lights danced around them. ‟What the...?", Riven said and looked around.

‟Back you are...", Elena said with a smile.

‟Wait..which time is it?", Riven asked confused.

‟One hour before midnight...you were away for three complete hours", the young summoner answered. ‟And? What did you feel?"

‟I could feel the magic...but I felt doubt and guilt too", Riven said.

Elena just smiled at her. ‟You have a deep connection with your sword. Some blacksmiths who forge magical weapons claim that this sort of weapon is a reflection of the person who wields it. So..when you have doubt in a battle your blade shatters. If you don't believe in the purpose of your fighting it shatters or get scratched. You need to push doubt and guilt aside to control the energy. Your eyes need to be clear and you have to know your purpose."

‟I...can't. Or to be clear..not yet...", Riven answered quietly while looking down. The green runes of the shattered blade didn't glow right now. Like it felt her disappointment.

‟Nah..I didn't expect you to be able to summon it in the first hours of practice. But well..I need to go now. It's already quite late you know", Elena said and stood up. ‟See you tomorrow alright?"

‟Alright..I'll stay here...I have to think..", Riven explained, while Elena nodded and left the clearing.

Riven fell on her back and looked up in the night sky. 'Huh..I'm pretty fucked up', she thought and closed her eyes for a moment. She thought about everything what had happened so far. 'My hands are stained..and my mind a mess...'

Suddenly she heard steps which came closer. She opened her eyes and looked behind her.

‟Well...that's surprising", a well known voice said. It was Diana, dressed in her usual armor and her crescent blade at her side.

‟I could say the same thing...well...how are you? How was the match?", Riven asked and turned around. She pushed her dark thoughts aside and concentrated on the Scorn of the Moon. Diana sat down on the ground.

‟We won the match. I fought against Annie..this child is a demon. I was burned multiple times. And..huh..I feel fine. The League is somehow pretty...unusual to be honest", Diana answered with a faint of a smile. ‟And how are you? What are you doing out here?" The full moon shone upon her silver armor and white hair. She looked beautiful. Riven hit herself mentally. What the hell was she thinking?

‟I think..fine. Well..my summoner, Elena, wanted to meet me here for some special training to..well to summon my whole blade", Riven replied and looked down.

‟Huh...I already asked myself why you fight with a shattered sword, when I first met and fought you in the training rooms", Diana replied and looked at the shattered sword. ‟I guess...some personal things right?" Her voice was calm and somehow a bit softer than usual.

‟You're right...I shattered my sword back in..in...Ionia. I fought a terrible war back then. My..whole unit was killed. Not by the Ionians...by our own ally. Zaunites war machines..bombs and gas", Riven said slowly. ‟I shattered my blade because of anger, hatred...and despair. I wanted a new start." It was the first time that she talked to another person about her past. Not counting the summoners of course, which just invaded her mind without asking.

‟We have something in common Riven...I was betrayed too. I wanted to show the elders that other humans had worshiped the moon. I was born to the Solari...but I always found guidance in the night sky and the moon. They punished me...and nearly sentenced me to death as I found evidence for other believers. I was betrayed by them...they don't listen to me", Diana said somehow bitterly.

‟I'm..sorry for that", Riven replied and looked up. Diana looked at her, but shook her head.

‟You don't have to", Diana smiled shortly at her. ‟You didn't have anything to do with it. Besides... you're one of the few who accept the truth."

‟As I said before..thank you for that." She thought shortly before she continued: ‟So...we're two warriors who were betrayed and nearly killed by their own people. How ironic."

‟Somehow huh? Valoran is small...", Diana just answered and looked up to the sky and watched the moon. There was a short silence between them, while both were engrossed in thoughts. Riven decided to break it.

‟Well...what are you doing out here?", Riven asked quietly, while looking back to Diana.

‟Today is a good day to watch the moon and the stars...the sky is clear and no clouds in sight. I have studied the movements of the stars, the constellation of them and so on. But..I find something new every time. I can show you if you want", Diana smiled. Then she lay on her back.

Riven followed her example and looked up in the sky. ‟Huh..why not? I could use some distraction", Riven replied.

‟Hm..today the full moon hides some of the smaller and not so bright stars. Do you see the bright one, relatively close to the moon?", Diana said.

‟Yeah...", Riven answered quietly.

‟Combine it with the other ones close to him. The brightest ones", Diana said while she folded her hands behind her head.

Riven used her finger to follow the different stars in the sky. ‟Looks like a...crown? You know..this kind of thing princess, queens and so one are wearing."

‟You're completely right, it's a crown. Come I show you another one...", Diana said and pointed into the night sky. ‟The left one..besides the edge of the crown..."

‟Looks like a...some kind of animal I would say", Riven said after she searched the sky for a moment to combine the stars.

‟Some of the old inscriptions I found called it the lion. A symbol of courage and honor...somehow fitting. You can see these stars the whole year", Diana explained. ‟There some others...I'll show you."

Time passed as they both watched the stars and constellations. Diana explained her every single one and to Riven's surprise, she smiled and even laughed sometimes, when Riven got some constellations wrong. She had never thought that someone like Diana, who seems to be a merciless cold warrior, could be able to something like this.

Slowly Riven got up and suppressed a yawn. ‟Tired already?", Diana asked with a grin on her face.

‟I'm not a owl like you. Some people need to sleep and..the day was rather hard", Riven replied with a smile.

‟I know..I know. I had this kind of problems too..'you have dark circles around your eyes, Diana..you were up again at night', and so on", Diana smiled at her, then she got serious again. ‟But.."

‟What is it?", Riven asked and looked at her while she relaxed her muscles.

‟To be honest...after this evening..ehm...it's hard for me to say", Diana seemed to be troubled in some way, ‟but..I consider you a friend. Hope you don't mind." She looked to the side, a slight blush on her face.

The surprises in this evening didn't stop. Riven looked at Diana and then nodded. ‟Well...I can say the same thing, Diana. You're..a friend of mine too." A short silence between them, before Riven said plainly: ‟Good evening then."

‟Sleep well Riven. I'll see you tomorrow." Diana smiled at her and then looked back into the night sky.

‟Yes you will..sleep well, Diana." Riven left the clearing while a small party took place in her head. She didn't know exactly why, but nevertheless it felt pretty good. A friend at her side. 'The League is full of surprises...after all..it wasn't the worst decision I've ever made', she thought with a faint smile on her face.


	5. An Unexpected Journey

**Author's Note**

Nothing to say here...let's go!

**Chapter 5**

**An Unexpected Journey**

**A few days later...**

Riven walked into the mess hall with a somehow grim face. It was early in the morning and only a few people were already awake. At one table some demacian girl sat. She glared over to Riven, her long thin sword at her side. Her name was Fiora, 'the Grand Duelist'. Or at least that's what they called her. In one last match, they had killed each other multiple times, but Riven had won more often than her. With the help of her jungler, to be honest, but nevertheless she won.

That had scratched her far too great ego and now she treated Riven with even more arrogance. Something Riven disliked the most about a person. She just looked back at her, with her best ‟I don't give a fuck" face she had and grabbed a plate, filled it with something to eat and sat down.

She wasn't in a good mood. To be exact, she felt like punching someone. Secretly she hoped that Fiora would say only one thing. Only one thing so she had a reason to beat her up, to let out her bad mood.

The last days were horrible. Not counting the match against Fiora, she lost four matches in a row. She felt pretty exhausted after every single one and went straight to her bed. Dying wasn't something easy, when you have to do it over and over again.

Then, there was the training with Elena. She didn't make any progress or at least felt a bit more than the usual runic energy. All what she felt within her blade was guilt. She wanted to punch herself, but she knew that wouldn't change anything. Elena tried her best to encourage her, but it didn't help much either. It was a frustrating slow process.

And then Diana had left the League yesterday. The only person who truly understood her and her feelings left the League. She told her that Karma, one of the spiritual leaders of Ionia, had invited her to the island for some festival called ‟The Lunar Revel", the Ionians version of a new year's festival. As the avatar of the moons power, Karma asked her to give the festival something special.

‟Sorry Riven...but I can't deny such a chance...", Diana had told her.

‟It's fine. I mean, that's what do you want right? Have some fun there, will you?", Riven had answered. The next day Diana had left the League.

She thought for a split second, she could follow Diana. But when she thought about Ionia she only saw death and war. She had committed so many sins and crimes on that island. She had destroyed a whole village, killed so many civilians, she even assassinated an Ionian elder without questioning. She killed a man who nearly couldn't defend himself.

No. There was no way she could ever enter Ionia. When she would enter the isle, she would collapse because of guilt, sorrow and pain. 'So that's it...that is what's blocking my mind", she thought sarcastically.

As she continued to dwell on to her dark thoughts, steps echoed through the mess. Steps which came closer to her. Riven looked up. Before her stood a woman. She wore purple and white clothing. On her left leg Riven saw some green tattoos. It was Karma herself. ‟May I have a seat?", she asked and Riven just nodded.

Riven felt nothing. Karma was one of the leaders of Ionia and had suffered as much as every other Ionian. So her deeds had finally caught up to her. She looked at Karma, her face like a stone. ‟What do you want from me? Do you come to punish me for my sins? It's fair to be honest...", Riven said. Her voice without any emotions.

‟I know who you are, Riven", Karma said plainly. ‟I know what you have done...Elena told me."

‟Then tell me..what do you want? Do you want to judge me?" She couldn't look into the eyes of Karma and decided to look to the ground. Her guilt was about to take over.

‟I'm not here because of that. I'm here because I want to offer you something", Karma said somehow resolutely. Riven looked up. ‟Let me get straight to the point. I want to invite you to Ionia to visit the Lunar Revel festival."

Riven felt like someone had kicked her into ice water. ‟You want what? I can't...I can't. Half of Ionia want me dead and I can't blame them. Besides...it's the place where I had lost everything", Riven exclaimed. Some other summoners looked at them. Riven felt how here eyes got bleary.

‟Hey don't cry, Riven", Karma said with a faint smile. ‟You're under MY protection when you go there...and believe me, nobody will harm you. Besides...", Karma looked around for a moment, ‟Irelia told me that you fought with a new goal in sight. That you want to show a true Noxian way."

‟Even then...", Riven said plainly and dried her eyes. ‟I can't go to Ionia. There is too much guilt, too much pain..."

‟To conquer one self's is to conquer all", Karma said. ‟I don't know you very well Riven...I only know as much as Elena told me. But let me tell you this: You can't run forever. It sounds harsh, I know that, but you need to find peace within yourself. Heart and mind need to be one." Some green spiritual power flew around her hand as she said that. ‟Your past will always catch up to you...until you face it and accept it."

Riven said nothing and just looked down. She knew that Karma was right. She wandered around for years and for what? She entered the League only to witness the battle which changed her forever. Tears filled her eyes again as she thought about the dead soldiers of Fury Company.

‟I told you not to cry. Yes..some of my people want revenge and want to kill every single Noxian. But not everyone is like this. We can forgive...what kind of world would it be, when there's only hatred, war and revenge? So Riven...let me ask you a favor", Karma said and looked to her. ‟Come to Ionia. Not only for your own sake...but come there and show my people the true Noxian way in which you believe. Show them that not all of your people...are cowards and weaklings who protects themselves with chemical weapons."

Even though she knew that Karma was somehow right, the plain facts hurt much more than Riven believed they would. It was true. Noxian had relied on Zaun's weapons during the war.

‟When shall I come?", Riven asked and looked to Karma. She had no choice. She knew some day she would collapse, even when she keep on trying to forget the grim past. ‟I need to face it...I can't run any longer." Her voice was faint. Normally she hated it to show any weakness...but right now...

‟Come as soon as possible. As far as I know some carriage will depart tomorrow...this will bring you to Piltover. From there you can travel with a ferry", Karma explained and smiled shortly. ‟It's a wise decision you've made. I will expect you there Riven." Karma stood up.

‟One question...why did you invite me? Why now?", Riven asked and Karma smiled.

‟I considered it because I have heard about it from Elena, which is one of my summoners by the way. But...to be exact someone asked me a favor as I invited her to the festival. You know her, right? Diana?"

‟Yes...I know her", Riven replied.

‟She gave me the little push I needed to ask you. Well then...I'll see you in Ionia", Karma said and left the mess, leaving Riven behind.

Riven sat there for a moment. 'Diana must have sensed it..but why she asked Karma that favor?", she thought. 'That's what friends are for", a voice said in the back of her head. 'I think so...well then...can't lose any time right now, can I?"

Riven stood up and left the mess. Just as she stepped outside, she heard a rather familiar voice behind her. ‟Hey! Don't run away..I'll need to ask you something", the voice said. Riven looked behind her and saw the Sheriff of Piltover.

‟Caitlyn? Haven't seen you around for a while..what is it?", Riven asked and turned around. The Sheriff wore her usual attire.

‟Sorry for that, but I heard you want a ride to Piltover?", Caitlyn asked.

‟Ehm..yeah, I do. As soon as I can..don't have much time", Riven answered.

‟Well..there's an zeppelin waiting for me outside of the little town. If you're ready in two hours you can come with me honey. We will be in Piltover at dusk...you can get a ferry to Ionia then", Caitlyn replied with a smirk.

‟Well..I can do that. But I need to report to the summoners that I'm leaving."

‟I'll do it. I have to report my leave as well", Caitlyn said.

‟Alright then...I don't have anything against it. By the way..you just left the League didn't you?", Riven asked.

‟Yeah I know..but you know being Sheriff of Piltover and so on...I have much responsibility within the city. They always ask me to come, when some new underground gang, criminals or some hextech thieves arrives on the scene", she sighed. ‟But well..I can tell you more within the zeppelin. Now let's go. We don't have the time for a little chit chat. I'll meet you before the city."

‟Okay Caitlyn," Riven said and nodded. They both left into another direction.

'Huh..well good for me', Riven thought on her way to her room.

As Riven entered her room, she searched for her backpack, which she found within some cupboard. She didn't possess much, in fact, only a few extra clothes and a small picture. Slowly she grabbed it and looked at it. It showed the Fury Company or to be exact the best of the best. Dassel, Ardus, Sal, Krim, Brite..and herself. She remembered when it was made. It was after they were promoted to soldiers of Noxus and assigned to their company.

She hadn't looked at it for a long time. 'Well...time to see you again, I suppose", she thought and decided to take the picture with her. 'Never forget...' Riven looked around in her room. After she made sure, she didn't forget anything she left and walked to the entrance of the League.

The entrance was crowded. The bright, warm sun lit the whole hall, which was filled with summoners and champions. ‟Riven! You just want to leave without saying anything to me?!", a voice yelled.

‟Hey..sorry, Elena. Didn't have much time for it...Caitlyn will take me with her zeppelin. And we depart in two hours", Riven explained to the young summoner, which looked up to her.

‟Lucky me that I found you! You could at least left a message for me!", Elena complained.

‟Sorry...Caitlyn said she wanted to report our leaving to the summoners", Riven replied.

‟She did, but you could do it personally! But, well...You really want to go there?", Elena asked. Her usual cheerful attitude wasn't there. Instead, it sounded afraid.

‟I have to. Karma had good points for me to do so. I can't run anymore...", Riven replied. She looked into the distance. Her facial expression went darker. ‟I have to face and accept it. Otherwise, I will collapse some day.."

‟Well...I suppose so..", Elena looked on the ground.

‟What is it? You look pretty down...", Riven said and looked at the girl. ‟Where's your usual attitude?"

‟Come with me", Elena said plainly and walked off. Riven followed her with a puzzled expression. They both walked a bit at one off the edges of the entrance. A pillar made sure nobody could see them. From here they could see the whole town and far beyond. Somehow Riven didn't trust in this situation and tightened the grip around her blade.

‟What do you want Elena? And why we're here?", Riven asked and looked at the girl.

Elena just turned around and before Riven even could react, she felt warm lips on her own. The time stood still for a split second. Riven's sword nearly slipped out of her hand because of the surprise. Then Elena interrupted the short kiss and looked away. Her face was glowing red.

‟Wha..wha...what?", Riven said with a blush on her own face. ‟What..was that Elena?!"

‟I...well..just be careful alright?", the young summoner said. Her arms behind her back.

‟Wait..you explain that to me before I leave!", Riven exclaimed.

‟Well..I like you. I like you very much...and I thought that would be a good time for it...", Elena replied quietly. ‟Need to go now! Come back to me alright? Oh, and..this is for you!" Elena handed her a small pocket most likely with some gold coins within it. And with that she ran off, leaving a complete flustered Riven.

‟What..the..fuck is wrong?", Riven said and shook her head a bit. She still felt Elena's warm lips on her own. ‟She..loves me? That's what she wanted to say, right?", Riven asked herself. She couldn't realize it. Her mind was flushed with overwhelming emotions reaching from surprise to 'what the hell'.

She shook her head again to get the color out of her face and then decided to leave the Institute immediately and head to the waiting zeppelin. She decided to push the kiss out of her head, which was rather hard.

Nevertheless, she felt...strange. She wasn't really happy or had butterflies in her stomach. It felt like..someone had robbed her something important. Was it because she didn't return the feelings? When she thought about Elena, she felt..something closely to friendship but nothing more. But when her mind drifted to Diana...well...

‟Be honest to yourself...you do have feelings for Diana beyond friendship. Most likely because she's the only person who fully understands you...ask her when you reach Ionia", some small voice said in the back of her head. 'I want that...feel with Diana right? I want to...', she thought and blushed slightly. Things were far easier back when she just wandered the wastelands.

'Nevertheless...focus on the essential right now. Get to the zeppelin and to Piltover. Then board the ship which will bring you there", Riven thought and pushed any other things out of her head. Focus and concentration were the key. She tightened the grip around the hilt and left the Institute.

As she walked the long staircase down, she saw something big at the end of the city behind the small wall. 'That..must be the zeppelin hull..quite big', she thought. She had never traveled with such a thing. Noxus didn't possess something like this and the journey with one of these..well the prices are far too high for someone like her.

As Riven stepped into the town she looked around. As it was rather early in the morning, not so many people were around. 'Good for me', Riven thought. Some merchants who built up their stands and some workers were on their way to their jobs. She saw some nightwatchman who looked pretty tired. Riven walked straight to the exact same gate, from where she had entered the town.

Even though it was early the guards here already had their hands full of work. ‟One after another!", one exclaimed, while two others controlled a chariot. Riven just left the city, one of the guards noticed her and nodded in her direction.

Riven never saw something like this. The zeppelin was gigantic and was held on the ground with dozens of metal chains. On the zeppelin hull Riven could see the symbol of Piltover. Some propellers were attached to the hull. Somehow she felt uncomfortable by only watching at this thing. 'That thing...is really safe? And I fly through the air like a bird?", she thought.

She looked around in search for Caitlyn, which she spotted close to the bridge which led into the inside of the airship. Some other man were there too and talked with the Sheriff. Riven stepped closer.

‟There you are Riven. Let's start right now", Caitlyn said to the man which nodded.

‟Loose the chains! Everyone on board! We will take off immediately!", he yelled. Some of the crew members ran over to the chains and loosened them.

‟Follow me honey", Caitlyn said and walked into the inside of the zeppelin. Riven swallowed down her fear and followed her.

Riven followed the Sheriff through some corridors. She could hear some machines started working behind her, then a short jolt. Caitlyn opened a door and stepped in. Riven looked around. The cabin in which they were now was rather big. Some chairs, a few comfortable looking couches and even something like a small bar and fridge. It was Piltover's typical style.

But what fascinated her far more, was that the left 'wall' of the cabin was completely out of glass. Riven stepped closer to the windows and looked down. They were already high up in the air. Below her, she saw the rather small looking town, the Institute and the mountains. She could see even farther to the horizon. For a moment she forgot her fear and the reason why she was aboard the airship.

‟Do you wish something Sheriff?", a man asked from the door.

‟Two cup of tea please", she answered and the man nodded. He left the room and the door closed behind him with a mechanical sound.

Riven looked away from the windows and sat down on one of the couches, in front of Caitlyn, which crossed her legs and look at her. Riven put her backpack on the ground and her sword beside her.

‟So let me ask you something..what do you want in Piltover?", Caitlyn asked with a curious voice.

‟I assume you know Karma? Well...she invited me to Ionia to some festival. I'll take a ferry from Piltover...ehm...I don't want to offend you, but your city is a bit more...relaxed with someone like me than for example Demacia", Riven said carefully.

‟It's not like that we like Noxus, as it has its bond with Zaun...but you're possibly right. As long as you don't scream ‟For Noxus" in the public, that shouldn't be a problem", she replied with a smile.

‟I assure you, that this will not happen", Riven said. The door opened again and the man entered.

‟Two cups of tea with two spoons of sugar. Can I do something else for you?" he said with a grin.

‟Thank you. And no, we're fine", Caitlyn replied to him. He nodded and left the cabin again. Caitlyn took the cup of tea and nipped at it.

‟So...what business do you have in Ionia? As former Noxian...isn't it dangerous to go there?", Caitlyn asked.

‟Some...personal things to handle. And well...Karma assured me, that I'm under her protection when I get there", Riven answered.

‟Huh...be careful not to run into any traps then. Do you know Varus? I've heard rumors that he joined the League recently. As my summoner told me, he was a guardian of some kind of temple. He told me he hates Noxians with a passion beyond logic", Caitlyn said thoughtfully.

Varus. The name echoed through her head. Riven knew she heard this name before..but it had to be a long time ago, as she couldn't remember when or where she heard it.

‟I will be careful", Riven said and looked at the cup of tea, which stood before her.

‟Huh...you asked me what business I have in Piltover right?", Caitlyn said and nipped at her cup once more. ‟I can tell you. Some new rowdies showed up. As far as they told me, they stole something precious out of one of the labors."

‟They call for you you for something like this?", Riven asked.

‟That isn't some normal crime. They only call me to Piltover, if it's something very important. It has to be something very precious...I wonder if Zaun has something to do with it", Caitlyn asked silently and more to herself then Riven.

For a short moment the zeppelin was shaken slightly. Riven felt how her stomach rebelled because of the movement. ‟Wuah...is this thing really safe?", she asked Caitlyn.

‟Yeah. That was nothing more than a little wind gust. Nothing to worry about...you have never flown with a zeppelin?", Caitlyn asked amused.

‟No never. Noxus don't have such technology and..to be honest Piltover wants a horrendous amount of gold for one flight", Riven replied.

‟So you were in Piltover once?", Caitlyn asked while another wind gust put Riven's stomach on a sample.

‟Once...your city is a rather interesting town. Even though I don't have much to do with technology or something like this. Most Noxians are a bit more conservative about some things", Riven answered.

‟They city can be a bit crazy from time to time", Caitlyn said and laughed.

‟Well..I was only in the suburbs to buy some supplies. It was rather quiet there", Riven replied with a faint smile.

They chatted with each other for the rest of the rather short flight to Piltover. Then, as the sun started to set the cabin door opened again.

‟We starting the landing right now Sheriff", the crew member said and Caitlyn nodded.

‟Alright. Let's go Riven", she said to her.

Riven grabbed her backpack and sword and stood up. She looked out of the window and could see the city of progress. Even though they started to land, they were still pretty high. Riven could see some of the skyscrapers and big buildings of Piltover. They city deserved its name. Shortly the zeppelin was shaken as it hit the ground. Riven heard how someone yelled orders.

She followed Caitlyn outside of the zeppelin and looked around. Something was wrong. ‟Ehm..Caitlyn? Where are we?", Riven asked.

‟On top of the statesmen building of Piltover. It's the closest landing field to my office and to the harbor", Caitlyn replied and walked on.

Riven took her time and walked to the edge off the landing platform. Some railing surrounded it to pretend people from falling over. She looked down into the streets of Piltover. 'Far..too...high. How can they even build such things?", Riven thought and watched thousands of small people. On the streets, she spotted some vehicles, which drove there. 'Carriages without horses? Or what kind of things are that?" She looked at the skyscrapers, most of them in different colors. She spotted some people working behind the windows. She wondered what kind of work that's supposed to be.

‟Riven? Do you come?", Caitlyn yelled and Riven turned around to follow her into the building.

They entered a small chamber and Caitlyn pushed a button. Suddenly the doors shut tight and Riven felt movement. ‟You don't want to walk the stairs do you?", Caitlyn asked with a smirk.

‟Well...", Riven said plainly and turned around. The little chamber had glass at the backside. She had a fantastic sight of the suburbs from Piltover. Most of the buildings were built around little lakes. Riven heard that they use the water as a natural energy source. The most houses were white or other bright colors.

‟Fantastic sight, isn't it", Caitlyn said with a smile.

‟You're city never stops to fascinate outsiders", Riven replied.

‟I suppose you're right. I'll take you to the harbor. The ferry should be there right now", Caitlyn said.

‟Alright. Thank you", Riven replied.

Suddenly the elevator stopped and the doors opened once more. They were in some great hall most likely the entrance hall of the statesmen building. Riven saw some people with stacks of paper on their arms. They nodded shortly at Caitlyn and Riven and walked on.

They left through the main doors. One of these vehicles Riven saw before was waiting for them. A man waited outside of it. ‟There you are Sheriff. Who's that?", he asked and nodded in Riven's direction.

‟A friend of mine. She needs to get the ferry to Ionia. Let's make a short stop at the harbor before", Caitlyn explained and the man nodded.

‟Alright. I think we have this much time. Get in." He opened the doors of the vehicle and Caitlyn and Riven went into the vehicle. The man sat before them and started the vehicle. Riven felt a little jolt before they started moving through Piltovers streets.

‟That's a rather...strange transport method", Riven said to Caitlyn while she looked around in the inside. It was like a far smaller and more compact version of a carriage. But far more comfortable and quieter.

‟In Piltover it's modern standard. We call it ‟car". You don't need horses anymore and you're as fast as them as long as you have a road", Caitlyn explained and Riven nodded. That was far too much input for her.

Riven looked out of the window, when the man and Caitlyn started talking about some criminal case. She saw the skyscrapers and other smaller buildings between them. The city of progress was a strange place. Sometimes she saw some big mechanism working, then she saw someone who was protected by most likely artificial beings. They looked like humans, but were far slimmer and complete made out of metal. Their eyes glowed in a blue color.

Riven felt out of place more than ever before. 'Such a strange city...they never look back into the past do they?', she asked herself. Piltover was all about progress. Eyes on the horizon and never look back.

Suddenly the car stopped at one of the docks, which looked rather standard. Besides, they were made out of solid stone and some great white cranes which loaded some of the waiting ships. She could see many different people, running around, yelling orders. But she also saw some 'normal' people, which boarded some ship. Most likely the ferry to Ionia.

‟Here we are. Just get on the ship, their you can buy a ticket while on board. So..that's the end off our little travel", Caitlyn said with a smirk.

‟I guess so. Good luck for you to catch these criminals", Riven said.

‟Don't worry. They'll behind barred windows...be careful on Ionia...and come back again, will you?" Caitlyn winked at her and Riven nodded.

She got out of the car. ‟I will...see you in the League", she said and closed the door. The driver pressed the accelerator and they vanished into the city.

Riven now looked at the ship. It was completely white and without any sails or something like this. 'Modern Piltover design huh? Guess I have no choice...trust the technology again", Riven thought with a sigh.

She got to the line of waiting passengers who entered the ship one after another. Riven entered the gangway and looked back shortly. She watched the city of progress. 'Well, how do they say here? Put your eyes on the horizon. Let's go then..", Riven thought and went into the inside of the ship.

**Author's Note**

So you thought there wouldn't be a love triangle?! MUCH MISLEAD! But don't worry guys...Diana will have her time in the next chapter (it's Riven X Diana after all). Besides..I enjoyed writing the Piltover part of the story...my next fanfic will most likely play there :3


	6. Road to Revelation

**Author's Note**

So..at first: I wanted to thank every reader, follower, reviewer and so on! You guys motivate me to continue writing! 3

Second: This chapter was rather hard to write...on the one side, I felt pretty bad for Riven on the other side, I really enjoyed writing Diana's and Riven's conversation and actions with each other. But let's go now!

**Chapter 6**

**Road to Revelation**

**Some days later...**

The first step on land felt a bit strange, after the long days out in the sea and the constant movement of the ship as the waves hit it. Riven looked around. She stood on some wooden docks, crates were stacked everywhere and some Ionians and Piltovian sailors carried them on board. They didn't take any notice of Riven, just nodded at her and then going back to work. She was rather happy about it.

Where Piltover was a modern high technology city, this harbor city was the complete opposite of it. All buildings were built in the traditional Ionian style. Most of the buildings were painted red and some had even some symbols written on them in the Ionian writing. Riven couldn't understand the meaning of them, as she never learned the complex characters.

The harbor city here was called 'Narbori', if Riven remembered correctly. This was one of the first positions the Noxian military had attacked and conquered due to its strategic position. There were only two other ports. One in the far north and one on the west side of the island. The rest were harsh cliffs and impassable terrain.

Riven smiled to herself sarcastically. Even after all these years, she still knew some of the positions and strategies Noxus used in the war. She also knew that in the north of Narbori, was the path which led to Coeur Valley and Shon-Xan. During the war it took her company a full week to get there, because of the hard resistance and other conditions like muddy ground and weather. But she knew that with good weather and with a horse, someone could easily reach it within a few hours.

Riven swallowed down her fear once more. She heard from some other passengers that the festival was held in Placidium, the capitol of Ionia and that there were two paths which led to the city. One was through Coeur Valley, the other one was called Xuen Valley. Riven knew that the normal passengers and guests wouldn't pass Coeur Valley. But she knew, she would pass it. She needed to face it again, that's what Karma told her.

Even though she was only here for a few minutes, she felt like boarding the ferry and go back to Piltover wasn't the worst idea. She forced herself to move on, away from the docks. 'Keep moving on...you can't run anymore", Riven thought. She looked around in search for Karma or hopefully Diana, but she didn't expect them to be here as she was earlier than expected.

‟Hey! I guess you're Riven right? The Exile?", a voice suddenly said.

Riven looked at the site from where the voice spoke...and nearly collapsed. The young girl before her wore a more or less reddish-white armor and had long white hair. Some blades floated around her body. Sometimes they whirled around, before stopping again. It was Irelia, the Will of the Blades.

‟Y..yes..", Riven said silently. It felt like her legs couldn't hold her any longer. She knew what happened to Irelia and what theses blades are. Not only floating swords...more like her spirit itself. Riven heard from some soldiers that Irelia nearly died once. She couldn't take it anymore. It felt like her mind was breaking apart.

‟I'm sorry..I'm so sorry..", Riven whispered and fell on the ground, her legs weren't able to hold her anymore. Her head sunk on her chest and tears started to fill her eyes and dropped onto the ground. Irelia was like a trigger. Suddenly Riven realized and remembered every mistake and every sin she committed back then. It wasn't fair. She was blind back then, she believed in orders. 'Why me?", she thought sorrowfully.

Why she believed that this travel would make things easier? Help her to collect herself? She felt all the guilt, the pain at the same time. Like tons of weight were put on her shoulders. ‟'That's my punishment...my punishment for being such an idiot...to look into the eyes of them...look into the eyes of people who lost so much...", she said and started to sob.

Irelia herself looked pretty much surprised. Some other people looked to both of them, but with a gesture Irelia send them away. Riven felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. She tried to get a grip on herself, but it was in vain. Irelia knelt before her, one hand on her shoulder while in the other she held a piece of cloth, which she handed over to Riven, which dried her eyes with it.

‟I never believed a Noxian would feel sorry for someone like us. I didn't believe Karma as she told me about some remorseful ex-soldier. But, well..", Irelia just shook her head, ‟No need to cry like this. Come with me alright? There is someone waiting for you. Will be fine...slowly..no need to hurry." Irelia's voice was surprisingly soft.

Slowly and with the help of Irelia, Riven stood up. She hated it to show such a weakness..but she couldn't help it. She was in the country, which she partly destroyed and in which she killed so many innocent people. It was too much for a human mind to handle. Riven knew, that she was rather close to a mental breakdown.

Irelia helped her to walk to some small building. Riven felt weak. She couldn't remember when she felt like this, but right now her legs wouldn't carry her. 'Come on...get a grip', she thought. but it was meaningless. The sign above the building's entrance suggested it was some kind of inn. Irelia opened the doors and they walked in.

The inn was rather big. Before them was the bar, behind it stood the innkeeper. An older looking man, with friendly brown eyes. He nodded at Irelia and looked at Riven. ‟Oh my...who's this Irelia?", he asked as he saw Riven's tear-stained face.

‟Her name is Riven...bring her some calming tea..she had something like a breakdown", Irelia said and the innkeeper disappeared into the kitchen.

The inn itself was lit by a big fire in the middle of the room and some paper lanterns. The tables were all separated from each other with some thin visual cover, most likely for the privacy of the guests. Riven noticed that there weren't any stools or chairs. Only some big pillows. Mercifully, no other guests were around.

‟Can you stand and walk for yourself now?", Irelia asked with a smile and Riven nodded. Slowly Irelia let go of her. ‟As I told you someone is waiting for you there...I'll wait outside for Karma alright?"

‟Alright", Riven said somehow weakly. Irelia nodded at her and left the inn.

As she was alone, she took several deep breaths to calm down a bit. Not that it really helped her that much. Then she slowly walked on to the corner. As she looked around the visual cover, she almost broke into tears again. Diana sat there on one of the pillows and looked up a cup of tea stood before her on the table.

‟I'm glad to see you", Diana said with her usual calm voice and stood up.

‟Diana...", Riven said plainly. She couldn't hold herself any longer and nearly just jumped at her. She wrapped her arms around the surprised Diana and pressed her head against her chest. She tried to hold back more tears. ‟Diana..", she mumbled again and sobbed silently.

‟Woah..woah..what's that now? Some Noxian greeting I don't know?", Diana said with a chuckle and looked at Riven's completely tear-stained face. ‟My..my...no need to cry because you didn't see me for a few days." She smiled at Riven and hugged her tenderly. ‟What happened to you Riven?"

‟I...as I saw Irelia...everything came back...the sins, the crimes...everything." Riven's voice cracked as she spoke. She knew she had pushed away this feelings for all these years. And now they unleashed all at once and she couldn't do anything against it.

‟Ssshh..it's okay...it's okay", Diana said softly. ‟Just...hold me for a moment..if it helps..", she whispered. Then Diana silenced and just hold on to her.

Riven closed her eyes and just listened to Diana's heartbeat. It was slowly and steadily. She felt how her whole body started to relax and calm down only because Diana hold her. Riven never got comforted like this before. She had never felt so...secure and safe. A faint smile was on her lips, she started to feel better.

The chaos within her head and heart started to slow down a bit. Slowly Riven could think clearer, but she didn't want to let Diana go. Something deep within her, wanted that this moment lasts for an eternity. That this short hug, lasts forever.

‟You feeling better now?", Diana asked after a short time. She smiled at Riven.

‟Yes...better than before. Thank you..", Riven said quietly and loosened the grip around Diana, but more or less unwilling. They both sat down on the pillows, while Diana took some little piece of cloth and softly dried Riven's face with it. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against the hand. Diana didn't say anything, instead she just smiled.

‟It's okay Riven...it's okay. I never thought you would break down like this...if I had known that, I wouldn't ask Karma that favor...", Diana looked away. ‟I'm sorry for this.."

‟No...you don't have to. I have to face my past. Even though it's...that hard. Karma got a point, as she said that I can't run forever", Riven answered. She didn't want that Diana had anything like guilty feelings about this situation.

They heard how someone was coming. The innkeeper stepped in and put a cup of tea on the table.

‟For you miss...hopefully you'll feel better", he said with a warm smile to Riven.

‟Thank you...", she replied. The innkeeper nodded and left them both alone.

‟Huh..is it really worth it? I mean, look at you...you nearly got a mental breakdown...and I don't want that, you collapse before me", Diana said quietly and with a tone of concern in her voice. She took the cup of tea and nipped at it.

‟I have to. But...it would be good..", Riven blushed and looked away, ‟It would be good if you're with me..." She knew it was somehow selfish, but with Diana she had some..anchor to hold on if she ever broke down again. A short moment of silence between the young woman. Then Diana raised her voice again.

‟I wouldn't let you go alone. If you break down again...just hold on to me alright?", Diana said. Her face blushed slightly.

'Could it be? Does she feel..', Riven thought, as she saw Diana's blushed face, but she didn't end the sentence in her head. ‟Thank you...that means a lot for me...", Riven said plainly and grabbed her cup of tea. She nipped at it and again there was somehow an awkward silence between them.

‟Well...", Diana cleared her throat to break the silence, her face back to normal, ‟let's talk about something else alright?"

‟I don't have anything against it...", Riven replied and looked at her. ‟But one question first...why did you ask Karma the favor anyway?"

‟Well..you're not that good to hide feelings behind an emotionless mask, Riven. You looked pretty down, when I told you that I would go to Ionia. So I thought it would be a good idea...you know..I couldn't foresee that you would break down like this", Diana explained, but she didn't look very happy about it.

‟That's..alright. As long as you're with me, I can face my past...", Riven replied. Diana looked away, tried to hide her face before her. ‟I owe you something."

‟I did it for a friend. You owe me nothing..", Diana replied and looked back at her. A smile on her face.

‟If you say so...then just thank you", Riven said with a faint smile on her face. She decided to direct the conversation to something else. ‟So..how is Ionia for you?"

‟It's a pretty but somehow strange country. The people here are different from the ones I usually meet. Most of them are pacifists on a search for enlightenment. But on the other hand, some of them search enlightenment in combat. Huh..but they accept me and my powers. They don't see me as a heretic or something like this", Diana explained, happy about the new direction.

‟Sounds good for you. You won't have any problems here", Riven replied.

‟Not really. It will be easy to...convince the Ionians for the truth", Diana said. ‟One victory over the Solari, I would say. Some day..they will accept me."

‟I still can't believe that they wanted to kill you because of that...Leona seems to be nice though..", Riven replied and for Rivens surprise Diana nodded.

‟I don't think every Solari is like this...but as long as the Elders have full control over them, they will not rise against them or say anything in that matter. Even Leona wouldn't do that. But when all of Valoran know the truth..they can't deny it any longer", Diana said.

‟You're possibly right. Well, something else..do you know when the Lunar Revel is about to begin?", Riven asked and nipped at her tea. It tasted delicious and really helped her to collect herself.

‟Karma told me it will start tomorrow in the evening", Diana answered. ‟The main festival will take place in Placidium..you know the capitol right?" Riven nodded at her.

‟Yeah. It's quite ironic...but I remember most of the places here pretty well", Riven answered.

‟Branded into your head, huh?", Diana said with a smile, ‟Anyway...I was in the capitol before two days...and they already started to build everything up."

‟Huh..seems to be a rather big festival then. I heard some Demacians and Piltovians who were talking about it on the ferry. They wanted to visit it too", Riven replied.

‟They come too? It's getting better and better with every day", Diana said with a smirk. ‟How was your travel then? We expected you for tomorrow you know...but to be honest..it's not that bad that you're already here."

Riven blushed slightly. 'Does she really...for the love of Noxus..put yourself together! Think about that later', she thought and cleared her throat. ‟Well..Caitlyn picked me up. She overheard my conversation with Karma and as she needed to come back to Piltover, she asked me to come with her. Good for me...even though I'll never again set a foot on a zeppelin."

‟Gladly I didn't have to use that kind of thing...for me it was enough to stay in Piltover for a short moment. How can they even live like this?", Diana asked and shook her head.

‟Don't ask me that", Riven answered and looked in the direction of the bar. She heard footsteps and two familiar voices. ‟Guess they're here."

Irelia and Karma came around the corner. ‟I welcome you to Ionia, Riven. And it's good to see you again Diana", Karma said with a short smile.

‟Thank you, Karma", Riven replied and Diana nodded in her direction.

‟I guess we should come straight to the point, shall we?", Irelia asked and Karma nodded.

‟I guess so, Irelia. I'll take her personally to Coeur Valley. You can go back to the preparations for the festival...and lead the guests from the other countries to Placidium", Karma said.

‟If you say so, Enlightened One", Irelia said. ‟I see you both soon." Then she left the inn, her blades hovering around her.

‟Well then...you know what happens next. Right, Riven?", Karma asked her.

‟Yeah...face it again." Riven swallowed down her fear once more. She clenched her fists, to hide that they were shaking. Shortly she looked at Diana. 'Focus', she thought.

‟I come with her. She asked me that favor...if you don't have anything against it", Diana said. Her voice was back into the normal, calm and somehow cold attitude.

Karma looked at them alternately. Riven herself decided to look into her cup of tea, her face blushed slightly. ‟It will be fine. Follow me outside..we will take some horses and ride there. By this we will reach Placidium in the evening."

They both stood up, grabbing their equipment and followed Karma outside. They followed Karma through the rather moderate big city. The people greeted them and Karma with respect, some even bow before her before returning to her work. Even some kids did it. What Riven wondered the most that even someone like her was treated with respect and honor. Even though she wore some parts of her Noxian armor. Yeah, some had a strange look on their faces, but nevertheless...

‟You see Riven? My people can forgive...that's our way to live", Karma explained while she waved at some older looking men who played something like a game.

‟Hey..not that look again, Riven. I told you not to cry anymore!", Diana said with a chuckle.

Riven herself couldn't believe it. Why? Why they treated her like this? She did something horrible and still they bowed before her. She knew this was a gesture of respect in Ionia.

‟I...I need some time", Riven replied.

‟It's fine...there's only one thing I need to show you today. Ah, here we are", Karma said.

They arrived at the stables, were three horses already waited for them. Ready and saddled. The stable master stood beside them. ‟Their ready as you wished, Enlightened One", he said to Karma and bowed.

‟I assume you can ride?", Karma asked both of them.

‟Yeah...I've learned it in the military...", Riven answered.

‟Yeah...I can ride one too", Diana replied.

The three mounted their horses and Karma took the lead out of the city. The city wasn't protected by any walls. Instead the street just ended at some point, where some guards sat around and watched. They greeted Karma and her followers.

The last time Riven was here, she didn't have any time for watching the landscape. The city was surrounded by wide fields. Most of them were flooded with a brown looking water. Riven knew that the most common plant was rice. She saw some people working in the fields. Then she looked in the distant. She saw great mountains, with snow at their highest points. Between the peaks of two mountains she saw something, what looked like a monastery.

As she looked over to Diana, she saw that even though she was here for a short amount of time, she looked around somehow curiously. Diana shortly smiled over to her, before looking back.

‟You rebuild everything did you?", Riven asked and looked forward to Karma as they followed the path, which started to rise and led them deeper into the mainland of Ionia.

‟We did...even better than before, I say. But I must confess..it was rather hard. The winter can be pretty harsh in Ionia...but you know it, Riven..we're some stubborn nation", Karma answered.

The small group ventured deeper and deeper into Ionia. They passed some other small hamlets, some fields and some lush forests. Then they stopped before a small hill. Riven exactly knew where they were. Even though she felt better as they were on the move, now it felt like a rock in her stomach.

‟You know where we are Riven...behind this hill lies Coeur Valley. A few of our oldest writings tells us, that you can hear the voices of the dead in this valley...hundreds of years ago our ancestors burned and honored their dead in this valley...are you ready for this?", Karma asked.

‟No...but I can't run anymore", Riven answered and dismounted. Diana and Karma followed her examples and they left the horses.

‟They will not run away", Karma explained and the three walked up the hill.

As they reached the top of it, they looked around. The valley hasn't changed a bit. Even though it was a bright day, some places were still foggy. Like the fog would refused to disappear. Riven could see some patches of green grass, but even after all these years the valley wasn't fully healed. Riven clearly saw where the melters hit her unit and the Ionians.

Like a flash in her mind, she saw the dead soldiers lying on the ground. She smelled the stench in her nose, the blood and the rotting corpses. She felt the tension in the air.

'Why they don't surrender?' 'Can't tell ya.' 'Any intelligence?' 'Stay sharp.' She heard the voices of her fallen comrades in her head. Tears started to fill her eyes, as she slowly walked down the hill. Diana and Karma followed her silently.

Riven walked on and on. It felt like a dream. She looked around and saw one bomb site where the melters hit her unit. A giant stick of wood was rammed inside the earth. Ionians writings were written all over it. It was decorated with small colorful ribbons. She knew which bomb site this was. It was the one, which killed Ardus. She clearly saw him, lying on the ground. His last words were for her. She fell on her knees.

‟This is the place of a great betrayal...a place of a cruel battle between Noxus and us. Never forget the fallen one. Remember them and hold up their honor. Never forget their deeds and their faces...karuna tashi heisha eleisa ...may their souls find peace." Karma read the words which were written on the wooden stick.

‟You know that?", Riven said with tears in her eyes. ‟The betrayal?"

‟Some of our scouts watched the battle...and reported it back. Even though Noxus was our enemy back then...every dead soldier was treated with respect", Karma said.

‟You..burned them right?", Riven asked quietly.

‟Yes...that's the traditional Ionian way...we cleanse the dead with fire..I'm sorry. I know that Noxus hold up other traditions", Karma said and looked down.

Diana knelt down besides Riven and put an arm around her, as she saw how Riven cried silent tears. Riven closed her eyes, turned around and pressed her head against Diana's shoulder. Diana stroked her gently through the hair. Riven was glad Diana came with her...she couldn't face it alone, that she knew for sure.

‟It's okay Riven...", Diana whispered into her ear. Her voice full of empathy. Diana looked up to Karma, who smiled.

‟But...there's something I want to show you Riven", Karma said.

‟What is it?", Riven asked and looked up.

‟Follow me..", Karma replied and walked on.

Diana helped her to get up on her feet and they followed Karma. They walked up another hill and what she saw now took her breath. A giant field, full of pink flowers. And between them were hundreds, no it had to be over thousands of wooden sticks. Not as big as the other one. No, more like a gravestone. On every single one something was written and every single one was decorated with ribbons or even a small Noxian crest.

‟And from the ashes of the dead, new life shall arise", Karma said and smiled at Riven. ‟You know..it may sound weird, but you Noxians have some strange military traditions...like having your name on the uniform or necklaces with your names. We may have burned them...but no one is forgotten. We buried their ashes and marked their graves...and from the ashes the flowers bloomed."

Riven was speechless and even Diana looked pretty surprised.

‟You..did this all for a former enemy?", Diana asked and Karma nodded.

‟Yes...Ionia is a land of peace and harmony. We will not take revenge as we search for enlightenment and revenge is a dark path to take. We respect, every soldier, every citizen, no matter of their origin", Karma explained.

‟I..." Riven didn't know what to say. For her a normal 'thank you' wouldn't be enough. She was simply speechless. Her eyes wandered around the graves and the flowers.

‟It's alright, Riven", Karma said.

Riven took several deep breaths to calm down. ‟Thank you...I know..that's nothing..but thank you", she said and bowed down before Karma.

‟As I said..it's alright. It's our way of living. But you know...", Karma replied thoughtfully, ‟There is something you can do."

‟What is it?", Riven asked and looked up again.

‟Let's just say...I will ask you a favor. Nothing special and nothing much", Karma answered with a smirk.

‟Huh...I can live with that...as long as it doesn't stand against my honor", Riven replied and Karma nodded.

‟It won't. I have an idea already...well, let's go back to the horses, shall we?", Karma asked. Diana and Riven both agreed and they left the memorial.

At the top of the hill Riven looked back. Diana stood beside her, waiting for her. Suddenly she felt a gust of wind and a distant voice said something: ‟Don't forget us P.C. Don't blame yourself...nobody of us blame or hate you. No! We all count on you! Show the world a true Noxian! Rebuild Noxus! Don't disappoint us alright? Oh, and Diana..watch out for her okay? We'll await you both..hopefully not too soon! See you in the afterlife!"

Riven got goosebumps everywhere. What the hell was that? Ghosts? Nevertheless the voice...it sounded like..."Ardus?", she asked and looked around, but as soon as the voice had spoken it vanished. Riven looked over to Diana, which looked as shocked as herself.

‟I heard it too...was that one of your comrades?", Diana asked and Riven slowly nodded.

‟I believe it sounded like Ardus...", Riven replied. Both of them looked back to the memorial. But they couldn't hear any other whispers, nor did they feel any wind. It just vanished again.

‟So..I believe the Ionian legend about the ghosts..is true, then?", Diana said slowly.

‟Well..it's hard to believe that both of us had the same imagination...so yes...it's true", Riven replied and stood there for a moment, the words still in her head. 'Rebuild Noxus...ts..that's not an easy task. To be exact it's nearly impossible', Riven thought. 'But he told me not to disappoint them...so I need to try.'

‟How do you feel Riven after all these..events", Diana asked her.

‟I can't really tell you...I will need some time to get my head clear about everything", Riven replied.

‟Well..whatever you're going to do now...your fellow soldier told me to watch out for you. So don't do anything dangerous..otherwise it will be hard for me to explain", Diana said with a smirk.

‟You're in the right spot to say something like this, Diana!", Riven exclaimed with a slight chuckle. Riven felt like the tons of weight on her were lifted. She knew: Her new task was more likely far bigger than any other in her entire life...but at least she had a purpose now.

They walked down the hill, were Karma was already waiting for them. ‟There you are", she said.

‟Well...something held us up", Riven explained and mounted up.

‟Someone would say it like this", Diana added with a smirk and mounted her horse too.

‟Huh..", Karma said and frowned. Then she shrugged. ‟Don't matter. Follow me!" She clapped spurs to her horse and both of them followed her through the valley.

As they reached the end of it, Riven looked back for the last time. Near the great wooden stick, she thought to see some ghostly figures who saluted her and then disappeared. She saluted back. 'I will never forget any of you. I will not disappoint you. Farewell...Fury Company", she thought and then followed Diana and Karma on their way to Placidium.


	7. Year of the Dragon

**Author's Note**

Plot twists are going around. Oh and yeah..we have some talk about 'destiny' in this chapter. I watch to many anime and stuff like this ~.~

**Chapter 7 **

**Year of the Dragon **

**Somewhere on Valoran...**

‟And you're pretty sure about it?", a voice said. It sounded metallic, like the person spoke through a helmet or something like this. In fact, it was so unnatural, somebody couldn't say if the speaker was a man or a woman.

‟Yes. I've calculated everything...it didn't matter", another voice said. The same thing for the other person. A metallic and unnatural voice.

‟But, what about the League? They will interfere won't they?"

‟I have made some special security instances."

‟Tse..that's a risky game you play. But, I will not stop you in any way. To be honest...I'm pretty interested about it."

‟It's settled then. Set everything in motion."

‟What about the other one?"

‟Doesn't matter. Don't pay her any attention...she won't be a problem."

Two pairs of boots walked away.

**In the meanwhile on Ionia...**

‟Welcome to Placidium! The main capitol of Ionia!", Karma exclaimed and opened her arms, like she wanted to present it to them.

After they had left Coeur Valley, they rode north west, directly to the capitol. On their way to it, they had passed multiple smaller villages and hamlets and even a monastery, where some monks trained an ancient style of fighting as Karma had explained them. But they didn't stop once for a small rest. To Riven it felt like Karma was in a hurry, to reach Placidium in time. Yeah the sky already had the color of orange and the sun started to set behind the horizon, but Riven didn't know why they had to rush like this.

Nevertheless, the sight which they had now was spectacular. They stood on a hill, over the main city. Placidium was the biggest city in Ionia so it was natural that the Ionians had built everything important within its walls. Riven looked in the distant. On the mountainside she saw some big buildings, most likely temples or meeting halls. A great staircase led up to them.

Before this she saw the city. Hundreds, no it had to be thousands of houses. Everywhere she saw people, walking around and talking with each other. What she saw too were stands which were built everywhere, most likely for the festival. Here and there she saw some great town squares on which some great stages were built up. She wondered for that they would be used.

‟It's impressive", Riven said while the three rode down the hill.

‟You've never been here before?", Diana asked.

‟No. My unit had the task to move north, passing Placidium and secure the north harbor. But..you know the rest of the story", Riven answered.

‟Ah, alright then", Diana replied with a smile and looked to Karma. ‟I'll guess Riven comes with me?", she asked her.

‟Yes, I think so. Just tell the innkeeper, that she wants a room. It's a request from Karma", Karma answered with a smile.

‟Well, sounds good for me", Riven said. 'Well..can't get any closer to Diana', she thought and slapped herself in her mind. She looked over do Diana, which just smiled.

‟No complains here", she said with a chuckle and Riven blushed slightly.

The group passed the gates from Placidium. The whole city was protected by a small stone wall, which reminded Riven of the town before the Institute of War. Some guards waited for them there, but as soon as they spotted Karma they just bowed before her and didn't ask any questions, just waving them through.

The streets were crowded. Far more people were around, than it looked like from the hill. But Karma's presence was enough, to let people jump to the site to let them pass. She waved in the crowd and smiled, while Riven just looked around. The Ionians had hung their traditional lanterns everywhere. But what Riven fascinated far more, was the use of dragon symbols. On the lanterns even on the clothes from some people she saw dragons. She saw one booth, which sold some small crests, everyone with a little dragon on it.

‟Let me ask you a question...why do you use the symbol of a dragon?", Riven asked into Karma's direction.

‟The next year, which we will celebrate is the year of the dragon. You know..we have a very old tradition with the stars and their constellations. Every year has a different sign. The dragon, the monkey or the tiger for example", Karma said. ‟If you're born in the year of the dragon you will be blessed with might, luck and pride."

‟Interesting. And is it true then?", Riven asked.

‟I don't think so", Karma answered and laughed. ‟I was born under the sign of the tiger. A leader and strong willed person, but often a dominant character who wants others under him. But I'm more a person, who is surrounded by his people. I'm more one of them."

‟I saw that. But you can't deny a strong will", Riven replied and Karma laughed.

‟I believe", Diana continued and Riven looked over to her, ‟that my ancestors who worshiped the moon had this kind of tradition too. They used other names for it though."

‟Ah..you mean like 'the lion', which you showed me right?", Riven asked and Diana nodded.

‟Exactly. But after they disappeared, this tradition had been forgotten", Diana answered.

‟It's weird, isn't it Diana? We Ionians share many similarities with your ancestors...I start to believe they escaped to Ionia, after the Solari hunted them down", Karma said with a chuckle.

‟Well...right now I haven't found any evidence of this theory", she answered. ‟But, well..Mount Targon is rather far away."

‟It was just a thought", Karma replied. ‟Here we are."

They stopped at some stables, which itself were full of horses. ‟Seems like the whole country is here", Riven said. Karma nodded and dismounted. She gave the stable master the reins, while Riven and Diana followed her example.

‟Well, then. I will go to the meeting hall to prepare everything else for the festival. You two should rest..the ride was rather hard and I need you both well rested for tomorrow evening", Karma said.

‟Alright. I know where the inn is", Diana replied.

‟Good. Sleep well...I see you tomorrow." Karma bowed before them and left the stables. Even though she was now on her feet, the crowd still made way for her.

‟Okay, Riven. Come with me..the inn is located in the center of the city. We have a little march before us", Diana said.

They both walked through the town. Curiously Riven looked around. She had a few gold coins left, which she could spend on whatever she wanted. As she thought about, she never had so much gold. When she had some money, she needed to spend it on food or some blacksmiths or shoemaker. As they passed a small stand, Riven looked over the display. Shortly she stopped.

‟What is it?", Diana asked her and looked back.

‟Eh..I just wanted to see this here", Riven answered and pointed at the display.

‟Alright. We have the time... I'll wait for you", Diana replied and smiled. She walked over to another stand.

Riven went closer to the stand. Lucky for her, there were enough other people to hide her. The merchant nodded at her with a smile. He sold mostly trinkets in different sizes, shapes and forms. Rings and earrings, necklaces, bracelets and so on. One specific silver looking necklace drew her attention to it. It had a pendant attached to the chain. On it was a dark blue dragon, standing before a full moon.

‟Eh..how much does this one cost?", she asked the man behind the stand.

‟This one, huh? I think it's for your friend over there?", the merchant asked and nodded in Diana's direction.

‟How..?", Riven asked surprised.

‟I have eyes you know", he winked at Riven, ‟besides everybody here knows about her. I'll make a special offer just for you. One gold coin and it's yours."

Riven shortly thought about it, but then she nodded. ‟Alright." She took the gold coin out of a little bag and gave it to the merchant, which handled over the necklace.

‟Thanks", Riven said and the merchant nodded.

‟Just for you", he winked and then turned to his other customers.

Riven looked at the pendant, then over her shoulder to Diana. She blushed slightly as she thought about, when and how to give it to her. Something deep within her said, that it had to be the perfect moment. 'Don't walk over to her and say stuff like 'here a present for you'. Wait for the moment', a voice said in the back of her head.

'Things are starting to get more complicated', Riven thought and sighed silently.

Diana turned around to her and smiled. ‟You've found something interesting?", she asked Riven.

‟No, not really. From over here it looked more appealing", she answered. The pendant was saved within one bag at her belt.

‟Alright then. Let's go on", Diana said and walked on, Riven followed her.

After a little walk, which took longer than Riven expected most likely because of the crowd, they reached the inn. It was a big building with multiple floors. From the inside came a loud noise from some revelers.

‟They already started ,huh?", Riven asked.

‟Seems so...well, let's see if they have a room left", Diana replied and entered the inn.

Unlike the one in Narbori, this inn was completely open. Everywhere were guests who sat around round tables, glasses and jugs in their hands. Riven smelled strong alcohol and miscellaneous food. Among the more or less drunken people, some waitresses walked around.

Diana ignored them all and walked straight to the bar, where some woman waited, most likely the innkeeper.

‟Ah, you're back, Diana. What do you want?", she asked.

‟A room for my friend here. It's a request from Karma", Diana replied and pointed back at Riven. Riven just nodded. but remained silent.

‟Even when it's a request from the Enlightened One..I don't have any rooms left. Before three hours, a group of Demacians waltzed right in...they had some really good arguments for their staying", the woman answered and pointed into the direction of the drunken people. Diana sighed.

‟Do you have another bed or something like this left?", she asked.

‟Sure...why?"

‟Just bring one into my room. Hope you don't mind", Diana said over her shoulder to Riven.

‟I have nothing against it", Riven replied. 'Huh...that escalated quickly..oh man..put yourself together', she thought and smiled.

‟Alright. If you say so", the woman said and walked over to some waiters and ordered them around. ‟Do you want something else?", she asked them.

‟To be honest...I'm only tired right now. The long ride from Narbori was enough for me today", Riven answered and Diana nodded.

‟Yeah. We go straight to our room", Diana said and the woman nodded at them.

‟Well then..sleep well", she said plainly and returned to the other guests.

Riven and Diana walked up the staircase, up to the top floor. The loud noise from downstairs disappeared as they got higher and higher. Sometimes there were small windows and Riven looked outside. It was completely dark and the stars and moon were up. But still people were around, laughing, celebrating or just enjoying their lives. 'We wanted to destroy this', she thought gloomy and sighed.

‟Something's wrong?", Diana asked her and looked over her shoulder.

‟No..it's nothing", Riven answered thoughtfully and smiled shortly.

‟If you say so...but you can always talk with me, if something is on your mind", Diana replied with a soft voice. ‟Here we are", Diana said suddenly and stopped before a door.

They stood in a small corridor, on the top floor of the building. Riven saw some other doors and also spotted some pictures on the walls. 'Rather luxurious', she thought as she entered Diana's room.

The waiters had already placed another bed within the moderate big room, which was now pretty cramped. A big, round window was on the backside. Riven looked out for a moment. They had a fantastic sight over Placidium from here. The room itself was decorated in a typical Ionian style and nothing really special. Some paper lanterns lit the room, but the room stayed rather dim.

Riven heard a metallic sound behind her and turned her head. Diana had taken off her armor pieces and stretched her arms.

‟No stars today, huh?", Riven asked with a smirk and put her backpack on the ground and her sword on some table. Even though her sword was a part of her, she was happy about it not to carry it around anymore.

‟Not today..I'm far too tired and I need to be rested for tomorrow evening", Diana answered with a chuckle, while she put off her remaining clothing.

Shortly Riven just stared at Diana's athletic body and underwear, before she got a grip of herself and looked away, her face was glowing red. Luckily the room was dark enough, so that Diana couldn't see how embarrassed Riven felt. What the hell did she think to undress like that before her? Even though she had to admit, that Diana had a really beautiful body.

‟Pretty shy, aren't you? I will not peek", Diana asked with a smirk. She walked over to her bed and slipped under the blanket.

Riven just sighed and put off her clothing as well. She hesitated for a short moment and looked down on her. Then her sight wandered to Diana, which seems to be asleep, and back to her arm. She shrugged slightly and decided to remove the bandage on her left arm. Slowly Riven removed it and looked at her arm. She didn't know why she did this..it was like a ritual. She removed the bandages every evening and sometimes hoped it would disappear.

The skin on her arm looked strange, not like the rest. It looked like it was slightly burned while some other parts were completely pale. It didn't hurt though, so she normally didn't pay any attention to it. She knew that this was a tribute from the chemical attack. A scar on her mind and body.

Riven heard the sound of moving cloth and looked over to Diana, which sat upright in her bed. Riven felt how she blushed again, sitting half naked before Diana.

‟Scars from your past...aren't they?", she asked and nodded in the direction of her arm.

‟Yes", Riven replied and looked at her again. ‟Even though I survived the assault...my body and mind weren't...in a good condition. I felt ill and bad for a whole week, before I had the strength to flee from Ionia."

‟Maybe...it's destiny", Diana said and smiled.

‟Destiny?", Riven asked.

‟You survived the chemical attack, you survived a whole week even though your body was shattered and ill. You survived all the years and joined the League. And now..you're back in Ionia and heard the voices of your dead comrades..."

‟What do you mean? I'm not a big fan of..destiny and such things", Riven replied.

‟But is it really a coincidence that everything happened like this? I started to believe in this, as I stood before the elder, as they started to build up the stake. I started to believe as the moons power awoke within me...let's just say..I think you have something big before you. And as I promised I will stand by your side." Diana smiled at her., then she fell back on her bed. ‟Man..I go on and on...normally I don't talk that much."

Riven laughed silently. ‟Whatever may be happening...it's good to have you", Riven said and went to her own bed.

‟Oh and one more thing...no need to hide such a beautiful body, Riven", Diana winked at her and laughed silently, as she saw how Riven blushed again, before closing her eyes.

The time slowly passed, but Riven couldn't fall asleep easily. She heard the steady and calm breath of Diana and looked over to her. 'Diana..do you really..? You didn't say that just like this, did you?', Riven thought and shook her head. Did it matter? 'Not at the moment...I put too much into something like this..' Her mind drifted back to the destiny thing. 'No coincidence, huh? Well...why not?', she thought before finally falling asleep.

**The morning of the next day...**

Slowly Riven opened her eyes and yawned silently. Shortly she looked around in the room. She felt how the sun was tickling on her face and looked to the window. It was already quite late, the sun stood in the clear blue sky. For a moment she wondered how she didn't have any nightmares in this night, after the events from yesterday. But, well she was happy about it.

Riven looked to her side, to the other bed. Diana was still asleep She laid there completely still. For a short moment, Riven remembered a fairy tale which she heard when she was a little child. A cursed princess which was in a long, deep sleep for dozens of years. However..she was finally awakened by the kiss of a prince.

'So...I'm the prince in this one?', she thought and smiled. 'Huh...why do I remember this story anyway?' For a short moment her mind drifted into her past. It didn't matter how often she tried...she couldn't remember her parents in any way. She knew she joined the military at the age of fourteen..a standard age for most Noxians. She knew before that, she was in an orphanage...but anything before that...

Diana yawned and slowly looked over to Riven, which was still observing her. ‟Morning", Diana said and stretched.

‟Good morning", Riven replied. She still looked at her, it was nearly like staring.

‟How long do you want to stare at me?", she asked with a smirk. She sat upright in her bed.

‟Oh..sorry. I didn't mean to...", Riven answered and looked away to the window. Her face slightly red.

‟And I didn't mean it like that", Diana exclaimed and laughed. ‟But, I guess you want to look away?" With that, she stood up from her bed, far more revealing in the sunlight than in the dim lights of yesterday.

The window was far more interesting right now, to Riven. Some adornments were engraved in the wood. Even though she still could see Diana in the corner of her eye. Riven heard how she put on her clothing and armor.

‟Why you're so shy about this anyway? Mount Targon wasn't very nice to me...but they're not that uptight", Diana asked her with a grin.

‟I'm not uptight", Riven exclaimed. ‟It's just...well..." 'It's just to see the woman I secretly love, half naked before I confessed...feels a bit wrong', she ended the sentence in her head.

‟It's okay", Diana winked at her. ‟I think that's cultural differences, huh? Anyway..I wait downside for you and ask the innkeeper for a breakfast. Lucky for us, that we're guests of Karma." With that she left the room, leaving Riven alone.

Riven sighed and stood up. 'Oh man...I should say it...never thought something like this is harder than any battle', she thought and put her clothing and armor on. She grabbed her sword and left the room.

As she entered the main room of the inn, which was still very chaotic with jugs lying around everywhere, some paper lanterns were on the ground too and she even saw a Demacian who slept on one table. 'Nation of the righteous..tse', Riven thought with some amusement. Riven spotted Diana, sitting at a table which was already filled with food. She went over and sat down.

‟Was a rather wild party, huh?", she asked while she took a cup of tea.

‟It seems so. I wonder though..how this whole festival will run off", Diana answered and took something to eat. ‟You shouldn't eat this thing there..it tastes horrible."

‟Thanks. I think Karma or Irelia will tell us", Riven replied, while she ate something which looked like a soup or something like this. ‟Say what you want..but the Ionians have a strange..breakfast."

‟Oh yeah..I miss the League", Diana said and laughed.

As they both continued eating and chatting, the doors of the inn opened. Riven looked over her shoulder and saw Irelia. She looked around for a moment, before she spotted both of them.

‟Not ready yet?", she asked with amusement.

‟How about a 'good morning' or something like this?", Riven replied with a grin.

‟Oh..yeah. Good morning you two", Irelia said. She took another cup and filled it with some tea. Her blades lay on the ground behind her.

‟Morning Irelia...what is it? You didn't come here just for a chit chat or?", Diana asked with a smirk.

‟Not this time. Even though it would be good", she nipped at the cup before continuing, ‟To be honest...I need you both for something. Karma wanted to tell you, Diana, the whole festival thing and what you should do. And I need to kidnap Riven."

‟Me? I suppose...it's about a favor?", Riven replied.

‟Yeah. You know...I will explain it to you later. One thing..can you act?", Irelia asked with a grin.

‟Eh...well..somehow yes. You know..it's good when you're in Demacia and act like a faithful servant of the nation. Nobody ever suspected me", Riven answered and Irelia laughed.

‟That's good!"

‟Karma told me about a tale..the Tale of Reina., which is played every year. You want Riven to play a part in it?", Diana asked and looked to Irelia which nodded.

‟Exactly", she answered plainly and nipped at her cup.

‟Wait..you want me to learn a whole tale and so on..until the evening?", Riven asked surprised.

‟Yep. That's the one favor Karma asked. But you know...you don't have to learn that much". Irelia answered. ‟We will practice in the northern park of Placidium. I will lead you there..you know where the main hall is, right Diana?"

‟Yeah. I was there once already. Well..we shouldn't waste any more time." Diana stood up and cracked her neck. ‟I guess we see us again at the festival...until then." She grabbed her crescent blade, waved shortly at them and left the inn.

Riven emptied her cup of tea and grabbed her own blade. ‟I guess she's right. Let's go then", she said to Irelia, which nodded. Together they left the inn.

The streets of Placidium were already filled with people. But, with Irelia before her that wasn't a problem as the crowd made space for them. Riven spotted that some of the people carried little scrolls with something written on them.

‟For what are those scrolls?", she asked Irelia.

‟It's part of the festival. We hang these scrolls, on the great tree in the Serene Gardens until the whole tree is nearly covered with them. Then...in the morning, one of our summoners will burn all these scrolls. We write our woes and worries on them...it's our tradition. I think Karma told you about the cleansing with fire and rebirth?", Irelia explained to her.

‟Yes, she did. So you throw away your worries to start anew?"

‟Yeah. It's a symbolic gesture of our culture", Irelia answered.

They walked on, until they reached a great staircase. Stair after stair they walked up. Riven looked over her shoulder. The sight was impressive. The city, the countryside around them, she could even see the great mountains which were near Narbori.

As they reached the top, they stood in a garden. Trees with pink leaves on them were everywhere and in the middle of a sea, surrounded by lotus flowers, stood a pavilion. Irelia lead her to the pavilion and sat down on a bench. Riven sat down besides her and looked around. A short gust of wind, let some of the pink leaves flying around.

‟It's nice here", she said to Irelia.

‟It's a good place when you want to meditate, think about things or just want to have a rest", Irelia replied. ‟So...at first I need to tell you the story. Then we will practice some phrases, moves and so on...this will take some time."

‟Huh..well. Fine then. I told Karma that I own her a favor..so I have no other choice here. Go on", Riven said and leaned back.

‟Well...as Diana said this is the tale about Reina, a skilled Ionian warrior..."

The time passed and the sun wandered above the sky, as Irelia told her the complete story about Reina. But as if that wasn't enough, after this they both talked about different phrases and movements during the play and even practiced then. They made only two short pauses, to rest a bit. During the late afternoon, both of them heard a loud gong. Irelia looked up into the sky.

‟Alright..I think it's time...", Irelia said.

‟Time for what?", Riven asked.

Irelia grinned. ‟Time for you to get a bath and your outfit. You will make a fine Reina", Irelia said and stood up from the bench. ‟Come with me."

‟A bath? You only have public baths, haven't you?", Riven asked and blushed slightly.

‟Yes...no need to be shy! Come on now..otherwise we will miss our scene", Irelia answered and pushed Riven forward into the town again.

'I feel like a child..I'm ordered around to do stuff', Riven thought and sighed silently, while following Irelia to a public bath.

**Author's Note**

I know that the part with the tale is a bit..weird. But I didn't want to write this thing two times (as in the next chapter the act will take place).


	8. The Tale of Reina

**Author's Note**

I'm sorry to be uncreative. The song from Diana is ‟Daylight's End" here original login screen. (Here stand the complete copyright thing..I don't own anything and so on). It fitted so nicely, that I decided to include it. Don't hate me! :P

**Chapter 8 **

**The Tale of Reina **

The sun slowly set upon the island of Ionia and dusk approached. And with this the festival began. The streets of Placidium were filled with people from all over Valoran and Ionia mainly from the city states of Demacia, Piltover and even Bandle City. Ionian music filled the air, along with the noise of the crowd, which cheered and celebrated the last few hours before the new year.

The stages were filled with actors who played different acts, ninjas from the Kinkou order who fought against each other or Ionian elder who spoke to the people and told them about the future, honored special persons and so on. As far as Riven heard about it, some people even got married at this time of the year. For a short moment, she thought about marriage, but pushed it aside as she had rather more important things in her head.

Riven herself stood near the stage in Serene Gardens. From here she had a perfect view of the scene, the crowd and the giant tree, which was filled all over with scrolls. She didn't wear her normal attitude. Instead, she wore a red-white traditional Ionian piece of armor, which was rather short cut for Riven's taste. A wrong movement or high jump and...well, somebody could see more than she wanted.

A fearsome demon like mask hung around her neck. She would need it, while on the stage. For her weapons she got two strange formed pole arms. Or at least Riven would describe them like this. A long staff for holding, while the blade was cut in two separate pieces. She never saw a weapon like this before and she asked herself again if this weapons were really used during wars and battles, as they were pretty bulky.

She leaned against another smaller tree and closed her eyes. She sighed silently. Shortly her mind drifted back to the bath. It was rather embarrassing for her, but on the other side she had some very good sights on some nice girls. Luckily they hadn't paid her much attention. 'I enjoyed this part a bit..too much', she thought for a moment.

She shook her head and sighed again. She always felt more attracted to girls. Even during her time in the Noxian military. Well, she didn't have much time back then, as she was an officer and held great responsibility for her unit. But, there was this one girl in her company. This one girl which always made her feel better when she saw her.

'Huh...I wonder what happened to her', Riven thought. She wasn't part of the fight in Ionia as her job was that of a medic, so it was most likely that she survived the war.

Relationships like this weren't forbidden in Noxus...but people always had a strange look on their faces if they saw such a couple in the public. Two girls or two men can't have offspring to strengthen Noxus glory and might. And without offspring, there wouldn't be new children in the military.

Riven's mind drifted back to the bath. 'This open culture isn't something for someone like me..who enjoy girls. Besides...' Riven looked through the crowd and near the stage. She hoped to find Diana, but there was no trace of her. 'Why everything has to be complicated like this?', she thought with a smile.

She heard steps and looked to her side. Irelia walked toward her. She wore a fiery piece of armor. Spikes and strange runes were affixed at her clothing. The mask in her left hand, was even more fearsome than Riven's. Her blade's hovered around her like they usually did. But today they were painted in the same color as her armor.

‟Huh? What's so funny?", she said with a smile.

‟Nothing..just thought about some things", Riven replied. 'Focus on the essential right now', she thought and took her serious face on. ‟You dyed your blades?"

‟For my role as a fearsome demon, yes...and before you ask: No, it didn't feel strange nor hurt it", Irelia answered with a smirk.

‟That's what I wanted to ask..I mean the blades are you right?", Riven asked carefully.

‟It's a rather...strange connection. It's hard for me to explain...", Irelia answered. She cracked her neck and smiled again. ‟But, well, it's Lunar Revel after all. So..are you ready?", Irelia asked her and Riven nodded.

‟I am. When we will start the show?"

‟After Diana's entrance and show. Which will take place every moment..Karma's watching from over there", Irelia said and pointed in the direction of one of the buildings, directly in front of the main stage. Above the crowd was a rather big balcony were Riven spotted Karma and some other Ionian elders.

Riven took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally. She wasn't prepared to act before such a bunch of people. Irelia smiled at her.

‟Don't worry. Will be fine..as I said you're a fine Reina", she said and nodded in the direction of the balcony, ‟It begins."

Karma stood up and walked to the balustrade. She wore a more official looking long dress. Gray and white were the main colors. Behind her floated the 'Mantle of Decorum', Ionias highest decoration. Then she started to speak in a clear, loud voice which was heard in all of Serene Gardens.

‟People of Ionia! Honored guests from all over Valoran! I welcome you all to the Lunar Revel festival. Today we will celebrate a new year under the sign of the dragon", behind Karma, high in the sky, a giant dragon appeared. It looked like he was made out of fire. The crowd cheered and applauded as they watched the spectacle.

‟Woah...impressive", Riven said and looked up.

‟Yeah. That's the work of your summoners...they do it every year", Irelia replied.

‟I know why you're here today. So let me get straight to the point. Today..we have a special guest in our rows. Allow me to introduce Champion of the League: Diana, the Lunar Goddess", Karma yelled before she sat down again. The crowd cheered up and applauded.

The eyes of the people, Riven and Irelia included, wandered back to the stage where a single person stood. 'Lunar Goddess?', Riven thought. 'Wasn't her title Scorn of the Moon?'

‟Thank you, Enlightened One. I welcome all people of Valoran too", Diana yelled.

Riven couldn't believe her eyes. Diana looked beautiful. She wore a white, light top which almost looked like blossoms. It was decorated with some golden trinkets and symbols and even her tight, purple pants were decorated in this style. Even her lips were in the same color like them. A golden tiara, decorated with a clear green stone, held back her long silver hair.

In her left hand she held a crescent blade. Riven was sure that it was not her own, as the one Diana wielded now shimmered in gold and silver. Some decorative lines were engraved in the gold. Diana looked around the crowd. She spotted Riven and shortly smiled at her. The crowd cheered.

‟That is...wow. I'm..", Riven said silently and stared at her. ‟Lunar Goddess...it fits perfectly."

‟I'm pretty impressed too...", Irelia replied besides her. ‟I've never saw this clothing."

‟Honored guests...today I want to show you all...the truth. My people, the Solari, had closed their eyes as I told them about it. They wanted me death...but today...you all will be my witnesses! You will see the truth of the moon", Diana exclaimed loudly. Ionian music started to play in the background, the crowd went silent.

The silver side of her blade started to glow in moonlight. Diana's forehead started to glow too. It was a full moon and a crescent one. Her crest and symbol. The moonlight fell down on Diana, illuminated the whole stage in a silver tone. From somewhere unseen lotus blossoms rained down upon her and the standing people.

Diana knelt down and raised her sight. She looked directly to the full moon, which stood above them. ‟Feel the might and glory of the moon..and hear the lies which are spoken by the Solari", she yelled into the crowd.

Riven heard how Diana started to sing...

‟_Ask not the sun why she sets_

_Why she shrouds her light away  
Or why she hides her glowing gaze  
When night turns crimson gold to gray_

_For silent falls the guilty sun  
As day to dark does turn  
One simple truth she dare not speak:  
Her light can only blind and burn_

_No mercy for the guilty  
Bring down their lying sun  
Blood so silver black by night  
Upon their faces pale white_

_Cruel moon, bring the end  
The dawn will never rise again"_

Riven closed her eyes. Diana's voice was like a magical spell. She didn't know that Diana could sing like this...it was beautiful and impressive. Riven imagined a battlefield as she heard the words. The guilty Solari laid down on the ground, dead. Killed by the avatar of the moon's power. And above them stood one lonely person on a hill. She knelt down to honor the moon and the night and prayed to them.

'After all I heard about the Solari and their deeds..it's no wonder that such a song exists', she thought and looked to Diana, which was silent for a moment. 'She wants revenge on people who didn't believe...I want revenge on the one who killed my unit...we want the same thing...don't we?'

‟The moon..will punish the guilty and the liars." Diana whirled her blade around and released the lunar energy. Suddenly she was surrounded by a circle of moonlight, which illuminated the crowd and the whole garden. The crowd, which was silence until now, cheered up. With another whirl of her blade, Diana sent a Crescent Strike high in the sky. For a short moment there was a crescent moon, which lay under the full moon, forming Diana's crest.

More lotus blossoms danced and whirled around the air, which gave the whole scenery something majestic. Diana swung around her blade, which drew a silver line behind it as the energy was still within it's sharp side. Lotus blossoms gathered around her blade and with a yell she released the energy and the blossoms. The lunar energy and the blossoms rained down on the crowd, which cheered with joy.

Diana caught a full lotus flower. ‟Like this lotus, we will know the truth. It endures humble beginnings in the mud...like the truth which was buried and nearly destroyed by the Solari..but with time it blooms in a perfect beauty. Like the lotus grow..the truth will spread. From a modest thing..to a perfect flower. And in one day...nobody can't deny the truth anymore." Diana threw the flower into the crowd.

‟Now you know the truth about the moon! What is your answer?!", Diana yelled into the crowd. The cheering was loud enough to be heard in the whole city. Diana smiled into the people and raised her blade a final time. ‟Year of the Dragon...we welcome you!"

Riven watched the whole show, with her jaw dropped. It was spectacular and she had never seen Diana like this. She looked happy. From over here it nearly looked like she would cry. Diana looked in Riven's direction, while waving into the cheering crowd. She smiled at her. Riven couldn't do anything against it and just smiled back happily.

Then Diana turned around and slowly left the stage, while the people were still celebrating the act. Riven looked over them. 'They all cheer at her and respect her...I guess she had never felt like this before', Riven thought and smiled. 'That's not all for this night...tonight will be the perfect moment...tonight...I will confess.'

‟That was a great show, Diana. We all will remember your words and deeds", Karma spoke again and stood near the balustrade. ‟Our next act is a tale about strength and courage. A tale about deceiving and mislead", the music turned darker and slower, ‟It's the tale about a skilled, young woman. The tale about Reina. Watch it...and learn."

‟Here were go, Riven", Irelia whispered to her. ‟Go out there...and show them what you're made of."

Riven took a few deep breaths before she went out on the stage. Her mask still hung around her neck. 'Focus...feel the story...that's what Irelia told me'. She stood on the stage and from somewhere behind it, a voice started to relate...

* * *

_A long time ago..._

_There was once a young woman who was called Reina. She lived in the monastery of Xuen, high in the mountains of Narbori. There she learned the way of a great warrior. She learned the codex of honor, the value of life and her responsibility to protect Ionia from the evil forces in this world. But the time came, where she followed the path to her own downfall..._

_At the beginning of her training, she was everything else than a perfect warrior. She lived a long time on the streets, she stole to survive. Her body was weak and her mind full of dark thoughts. She didn't know about honor or anything of the Ionian culture. _

_But, the strict and resolute training of the elders helped her. By the time Reina started to realize the errors of her early life. She felt a great guilt within her. So, she swore to live the life of an upright person. She swore to protect the weak and ill. When she didn't train, she wandered around Ionia and helped wherever she could. _

_Year after year passed and Reina was getting better and better. She was raised in the rang of an elite soldier of the order. But, she was still very young and hadn't seen the shadows which lured around Ionia, during this time. She only learned about it from the elders and veteran soldiers. _

_One day, the elders had a special task for their warriors. It was Reina, who raised her hand at first. The elder spoke to her: ‟This is an important message, Reina. You need to bring into the north of Ionia, to the Kinkou Order and their sacred temple." _

‟_Whatever you wish, elder. I will do it, as long as it doesn't stand against my honor", Reina replied. _

‟_I know, I could count on you Reina. Now leave and come back soon", the elder spoke. _

_Reina then left the monastery at the same day. She walked through the great Narbori mountains, through the place we now call Coeur Valley and into the forest of Shan-Lian. On her way, she met different persons who all greeted her with great respect. Every child knew her name. She was rather famous throughout Ionia. _

_As night fell over the forest, Reina decided to set up a camp and rest for the night. She heard rumors that some evil spirits lived within Shan-Lian, but she was sure about herself and her willpower to handle them. _

_As she just wanted to lay to rest, she heard the cracking sound of branches and looked up. A beautiful, young girl walked through the forest. She wore a long, white kimono, her hair so silver like the shine of the moon. ‟Oh...you are Reina, aren't you?", she said. Her voice sounded innocent. _

‟_Yes, I am", Reina replied. ‟But, what are you doing out here? This place is dangerous for young girls like you", Reina continued, her voice full of worry. _

_The girl blushed slightly before she answered: ‟I saw you in the last village...and I look up to you. Allow me to follow you! I want to learn from you! From the greatest warrior of Ionia!" _

‟_I wouldn't call me like this", Reina replied. ‟I allow it...as these forests are far too dangerous by night. But first...call me your name." _

‟_My name is Meilin. It's a great honor for me." _

_From this day, the young Meilin followed Reina around. And Meilin learned from the skilled warrior. They fulfilled the order from the elder and gave the message to the Kinkou Order which was pleased with them. But, they looked at Meilin with a suspicious facial expression and asked Reina about her. She explained it to the ninjas, but they stayed careful around her, which made Reina very angry, as she treated everyone with the same respect and awaited that others did the same thing. _

_But the ninjas stayed this way, the whole time Reina and Meilin were in their monastery. Until the day came in which they left. After a few hours of walking, a man jumped out of a bush and drew his swords. He wore a mask and looked at them._

‟_Stop! You shall not go any farther. This girl on your side is a fearsome evil spirit from the Shan-Lian forests", the man exclaimed. _

‟_She's not an evil spirit! She's an innocent girl!", Reina replied and drew her weapons. ‟If you want to kill her, I will have to kill you." _

‟_Very well. You have decided your fate", the man said. _

_The battle between them was short and Reina won it. She killed the man with a single blow of her sword, her face painted red with blood. _

‟_You didn't have to do it", Meilin exclaimed and looked at her._

‟_They have no right, just to kill you. You are one innocent girl", Reina smiled. Meilin looked at her, her face looked shocked. _

‟_But when you have to kill another one...you should wear this mask. I...you look so fearsome with the blood in your face. It's not worthy for the greatest warrior of Ionia to be bloodstained like this", Meilin said and blushed. She handled a mask over to Reina, a fearsome demonic mask. _

‟_I will Meilin. Don't worry, I will protect you", Reina exclaimed and they continued their journey. _

_On their way back to the monastery, many other fighters fell under Reina's blades. And every time she put on her new mask and fear grew in the hearts of her enemies. The mask started to be a part of herself, a second face in battle...at some point she didn't put it away anymore. Meilin didn't have any fear. No, she was always there to comfort her after the countless battles. She gave her warmth, and a feeling of strength. _

_After a few days of travel, they passed Coeur Valley once again and another warrior stood before them. It was obviously a girl. She held two swords in her hands and looked at Reina and her fearsome mask._

‟_So, you turned yourself into a demon? You gave up everything and killed innocent? You're not the Reina I used to know", she spoke._

‟_Are you here to kill Meilin too? If that's so..you have to kill me!", Reina exclaimed. _

‟_If that's your wish. Very well...I will do it." _

_The battle was fiery and hard. The other girl was a very skilled warrior of the order, but she couldn't win against the demonic, fearsome Reina. _

_As Reina killed her with another single blow, the helmet of the girl flew away. Reina looked at the face of the girl, and fell on the ground. ‟What have I done?", she asked herself. The other warrior was her very best friend. Her friend which she knew from the streets, her friend during her training. ‟What have I become?" She looked at her bloodstained, shaking hands. _

‟_It's only a matter of time now", Meilin said behind her. ‟You will be mine...forever. They were all right...but it was rather funny to see you, kill them all for such an innocent girl like me." _

‟_You...you betrayed me?! You let me kill my friends?!", Reina yelled and Meilin laughed at her._

‟_You're not so clever, are you? You were blinded by yourself...I only needed to tell you, that you're the greatest warrior in Ionia..and you willingly killed anyone. You were proud of yourself...and now you're mine", the evil spirit said and laughed. _

‟_I..I'm not yours", Reina exclaimed. She tried to get rid of the mask on her face...but it was like, it was nailed on to her face. No matter how she tried, she wasn't able to throw it away. She started to cry silently. _

‟_Your humans are so pathetic...now...you're mine", Meilin said and went closer and closer to her._

_Reina felt guilty. Her errors and mistake made her to kill her very own people. She knew that this...thing was right. On her long journey, she constantly told her what a fine warrior she was, what a noble soul she luckily found. She was blinded by her own arrogance and pride. Her swords fell to the ground and she looked at her hands. _

‟_You have me, haven't you?", Meilin said behind her in a seductive tone. _

‟_Go away! Disappear! Leave me alone!", Reina yelled. _

_Meilin laughed at her. ‟I shall disappear? Make me...a weak shell like you, can't do anything any more. You're nothing. Your spirit is broken and your friends dead." _

_Reina put both of her hands on the mask. With all her strength she pulled it, tried to shatter it. She started to cry loudly. ‟I've made a horrible mistake! I know it! I was blinded by myself! Please...forgive..." _

‟_The once great warrior started to cry like a baby. Pathetic humans..." _

_The warrior looked over her shoulder. The once innocent girl, turned into a fearsome demonic appearance. Fiery, red armor covered her body and a mask hid her once beautiful face. _

‟_I trusted you...", Reina exclaimed and her hands started to shake. ‟I cannot turn back time anymore...I can't make up my mistakes or errors...but what I can do..._

* * *

...is to avenge you my friends!", Riven yelled and stood up in a fluid movement. ‟I cannot turn back nor can I deny the cruelty of my deeds. But, I can walk on and show all of Ionia..no the whole world the spirit of a true warrior!"

Riven took the mask and crushed it within her hand. She threw the remains into the silent crowd and turned around. The evil spirit, or to be exact, Irelia who played the role disappeared from the stage. ‟Face me demon! Face me and your final destination!" She was completely one with her role. For a short moment she forgot, that she was on a stage and acted before a crowd of people.

‟_No matter how hard Reina yelled and screamed, the evil spirit was nowhere to see. It fled in terror of the new found strength of the young warrior...Reina was never seen again. Some people say she wandered around Valoran, others say she returned to her home. Nobody knows it..._", a voice said from behind the stage.

The crowd cheered up and applauded. Riven looked around. Even the elders applauded and Karma stood up from her seat. She looked down and her strong voice was clear to understand: ‟That was a great act, Riven. One of the best I have seen in many years. Do you...have anything to say former Noxian?"

A murmur went through the people. All eyes were upon her. Riven looked into the waiting people and thought for a moment. She wasn't prepared for something like this, to speak before so many people. 'She didn't let me play this for entertainment...and she didn't say that without a purpose', Riven thought and took a deep breath. She knew, what Karma wanted from her.

‟I have, Enlightened One", Riven exclaimed. ‟Yes it is true. I am a former Noxian officer. I've led troops into this country and committed many crimes and sins, just like Reina did. I was blind to the corruption which took over Noxus High Command. I believed in orders...but after my whole unit was killed by our own ally...I realized the errors of my ways and my own blindness.

But, not anymore! During my long travels and during my short time here, I learned the meaning of honor and true strength! I learned the value of life. Every Ionian...has my deepest respect..", Riven stopped for a short moment. She remembered the words of Ardus's ghost in the valley.

‟I will open the eyes of every Noxian! I will not stop until the High Command and every Noxian see the errors of their way! You can judge me...but I will not stop until I reached this goal! I swear this by my own blood!", Riven yelled. She never felt so strong. So right in her decisions. She knew, if Noxus get scent of it, she would be dead. They didn't tolerate rebels or someone like her. But, right now she didn't care.

Riven closed her eyes and waited for their reactions. In the first moment it was silence, but then the crowd started cheering. They applauded and yelled her name. She heard Karma's voice through the noise.

‟I never believed there would be a remorseful Noxian. But, you Riven...opened our eyes. I believed in you, as I saw how you shed bitter tears at the graves of your comrades. From now on..you are a welcomed guest in Ionia! Go and find some rest now", Karma exclaimed and smiled down at her.

‟Thank you", Riven replied and left the stage, the crowd was still celebrating. She heard how Karma started to speak again, but didn't understand the words anymore. Her mind was in chaos and her knees were still shaking. 'I can't believe it', she just thought.

Behind the stage Irelia waited for here. She had taken down her mask and smiled at Riven. Then suddenly she hugged her.

‟You were the best Reina I've ever seen in my life, Riven...and your speech was impressive. I guess you've won the hearts of my people", Irelia said and laughed.

‟Well..thank you I guess", Riven replied and smiled. ‟You were pretty good too. For a short moment I forgot, that I stood on a stage."

‟It was my first time too", Irelia winked. ‟You should come back next year."

‟I think about it", Riven said and looked around. ‟Where is Diana?"

Irelia smiled mysteriously. ‟As your speech came to an end, she said she will wait for you at the northern gardens. You know..the one where we both trained for the act."

‟Yeah, I know. Why there?", Riven asked.

‟That she didn't say to me. Nevertheless..I think you should probably go there. She's waiting for you! So let's go! You know where to go, right?" Irelia pushed her into the direction and laughed.

‟Yeah I know. Alright, alright I go. I see you later, Irelia", Riven replied and Irelia nodded at her. She walked back into another direction, most likely up to Karma and the other elders.

As Riven walked through the crowded streets, where she got some looks, as she still wore the short cut clothing of Reina, she thought about everything. She had made herself a target right now. 'But that's ok, I suppose. I can't hide anymore...and the League will protect me", she thought.

Besides..now she was at peace with herself. She had a goal in her life. But what bothers her far more right now, was the meeting with Diana. She didn't know what to say, or how to start the conversation anyway. 'Come on...give yourself a push now! You can make it!', she motivated herself.

Slowly Riven walked up the stairs which led to the garden. 'Just say the three magic words...', she thought. She took a deep breath and shortly checked the one little bag at her belt. The pendant was there. 'This will be the perfect moment...don't blow it!'

The garden was empty. No other soul were around as Riven slowly walked through it. Pink leaves lay around everywhere and every step of Riven rustled quietly. It was the only noise, as the city far behind her was silent. Now she knew for sure, why this was a place where people came, when they wanted a rest.

Riven got closer to the pavilion. There! She spotted Diana, which leaned on a tree, close to the little lake in which the pavilion stood. She looked up into the night sky. She still wore her 'Lunar Goddess' outfit. The moon shone on her, her eyes glowed with a faint silver. ‟Diana?", Riven said silently and went closer.

Diana turned around to her and smiled. ‟Riven..."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Cliffhanger? Here? Oh, yes! Next chapter will come soon! :P


	9. Confession of Love

**Author's Note**

You know it's spring and people have this spring fever...so I really enjoyed writing this chapter! :P (After eight chapters it was about damn time!) And..wow! One day earlier than usual! Have fun!

**Chapter 9 **

**Confession of Love **

The full moon stood above Ionia and thousands of stars sparkled in the night sky. It was a warm, clear night. A night which was perfect for festivals and events. A night of peace and celebration. The streets of the capital were filled with noisy, drunken people or people who celebrated like there was no tomorrow. Although they came from everywhere, it was peaceful. No disputes and no fights. A rather rare sight in Valoran.

But, here in the northern gardens of Placidium ruled the silence. Not much was to hear only the rustling of the leaves and the lapping of the seas. A few insects and other creatures of the night made their noises. Silent steps didn't disrupt the harmony of this beautiful place. It was pretty dark. The moon and the stars were the only source of light. They were reflected within the seas. It felt like a magical forest somewhere on Valoran.

One person walked through the garden. She wore a red-white outfit. Her white hair nearly looked silver in the moonlight. She looked around and someone could hear her faint voice. ‟Diana?", she asked and walked towards a pavilion.

Another person stood here in the gardens. She leaned against a big tree, his leaves and branches were thin, so that the moonlight shone down on the person. Her long hair had the color of the moon, her clothing the color of blooming lotus flowers. Besides her, rammed into the earth, stood a golden shimmering blade.

‟Riven...come over here", Diana said quietly and slowly sat down on the grass, her back against the tree. Her voice wasn't the cold, sometimes harsh, voice Riven used to know. No. It was warm and calm. It fitted the night. Riven stepped closer to her. The grass tingled at her feet, as she wore only sandals.

‟Here I am", Riven replied and sat down besides her. Diana slid closer to her. Their hips and thighs touched each other. Both of them didn't say anything. They just looked into the night sky and enjoyed the silence and the feeling. Riven remembered only one time, where she was that close to Diana. It was back at the harbor, where she had comforted her...

‟You're show was...impressive...", Riven said after some time. She didn't want to disrupt the harmony of this place, so she spoke quietly and calmly. Or at least she tried, as she felt how her heart was beating in her chest. Her whole body was tense. She knew: This was the moment she had been waiting for. The perfect time. 'Stay calm..you can do it', she thought.

‟Thank you..I trained the whole day for it..do you like my new dress?", Diana asked with a smirk. Her voice stayed warm. She looked at Riven and smiled. Somehow Riven believed that Diana knew, what would happen. A rather silly thought..but..well..

‟It's...It's beautiful. It fits you perfectly", Riven answered. For a short moment, she wondered why Diana didn't hear her heart beating. Her whole body was tense. She forced herself to stay calm and to breath constantly.

‟Thank you. Karma told me about that the Ionians had this armor for a long time...which made me wonder..she told me the lotus flower symbolize the full moon...maybe Karma was right about my ancestors...", Diana said thoughtfully.

‟Maybe you will find evidence here in Ionia? I'm pretty sure there are other things", Riven replied and smiled.

‟Maybe..maybe not. To be honest, I don't care much about that", Diana shrugged and looked back to the night sky. There was a short silence between them, before Diana continued. ‟I watched and heard your speech and act..."

‟Yes, I know. Irelia had told me...how was I?", Riven asked.

‟Fantastic. I never saw someone who could act like this before. I nearly forgot that I watched you, playing a show on a stage", Diana replied with a grin. She stretched her legs and looked to her.

‟Well...eh..thank you then", Riven said flattered and rubbed the back of her head. ‟Irelia and Karma told me the same..maybe I should start working as an actress."

Diana laughed silently. ‟Maybe...hopefully you don't end in some strange tavern at the end of a street and getting dressed up like a bunny with an outfit which shows far more than this." Riven laughed.

‟Hopefully not. That would be far too embarrassing.", Riven replied with a grin.

‟But, well..you made my job harder to protect you. When Noxus get a scent of your little speech about building it up and open their eyes..", Diana replied but then laughed quietly. ‟But, you can watch out for yourself. Besides, I will always have your back." She winked at Riven and crossed her arms behind her head. She leaned back against the tree.

‟I'm sorry about this...but it felt so right..and to be honest, I had never felt so good, like this before", Riven said. She knew about the Noxian assassins, even though she didn't have much to do with them.

‟Just a joke, Riven..just a joke. Besides...not only me, but the League itself has its eyes on you. No need to worry", Diana said with a smile. She closed her eyes. Some pink leaves fell down on them, as a gust of wind shook the branches of it. They both went silent again.

'Okay Riven..this is your chance now', Riven thought and took all her courage. She opened the little bag at her belt. ‟I...I have something for you", Riven said plainly. She took out the little pendant.

Diana opened her eyes and looked at her. ‟Something for me?", she asked, a little bit surprised.

‟Yes...do you remember the little stand? I told you, that I didn't find anything..well..that was a lie", Riven answered. She blushed slightly and handed over the little chain with the pendant. Diana held it in the moonlight and regarded it.

‟I hope you like it...", Riven said and looked down on the grass. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard how Diana put it on.

‟Yes, I do. It's fantastic...thank you", Diana replied and smiled. Riven looked over to her. The moonlight reflected on the little pendant, the symbol was still clearly to see.

‟It fits you perfectly", Riven said. She took a deep breath before continuing, ‟You know...there is something..I want to tell you." She felt how she got red color in her face and tried to get a grip. 'Come on..you can do it, Riven!", she encouraged herself.

‟What...what is it?", Diana asked. In the faint light, Riven thought to see her blushing slightly. She took another deep breath.

‟Well..it's..", as soon as she started, her voice failed her. She cleared her throat. ‟It's..I really like you. Since we first met. I..you were the one who truly understood me...you helped me facing the past.."

‟That what friends are for", Diana winked at her, but somehow she had a look of expectancy.

‟No...I mean, yes...but...it's...", Riven's voice failed her again and she blushed. She looked at Diana, which laughed quietly.

‟Oh, Riven...I knew it and it's the same for me...", Diana replied quietly. Riven was rather surprised to see her blushing too.

'It's this moment..right?', Riven thought. Suddenly Diana sat down on Riven's lap, her own legs left and right of her thighs. Riven looked up to her, she felt how her lips quivered with excitement. ‟Diana...", she said silently.

Her body started to move on its own, her head moved closer to Diana's, which came closer too. Riven felt her whole body tingling with excitement. Her mind and head got empty and nothing was important anymore. Any concern, any fear was washed away. She even forgot her surroundings. There was only one thing...

‟Riven...", Diana whispered and closed her eyes before their lips finally met each other. At first they both were unsure and somehow hesitant, but moment after moment it was washed away and replaced by passion and love. She felt Diana's hand at the back of her head, which pushed her gently against her.

Riven didn't have any words to describe it. A firework of emotions washed over her reaching from joy to passion to love. Diana's lips were surprisingly soft and tasted so sweet. Riven had never felt so good, she felt like in a dream. This is what someone would call..a perfect moment.

Riven put her arms around Diana's back, gently stroke her. She felt how Diana opened her mouth slightly. She followed her example and their tongues played with each other. Riven pushed Diana gently against her.

They interrupted their kiss for a short moment and looked into the eyes of each other, their foreheads gently pushed against each other. Their lips found each other once more. With each kiss, each touch of their tongues, Riven felt a warm feeling inside her. She felt how Diana's hands explored her body, stroked gently above her shoulders and back down to her belly.

Her own hands weren't inactive either. They wandered around Diana's body. She stroked her thighs and her back. They even wandered a bit deeper, but Diana didn't seem to mind.

After some time where they both just enjoyed each others lips, hands and their feelings, Diana interrupted the kiss. She looked down on Riven, her hands on her shoulders. Her eyes looked dreamy and happy. ‟This..was it right? What you wanted to tell me...?", she whispered and Riven nodded slightly.

‟Yes...its...I love you...", Riven whispered back. It was so easy to say, when the spell was broken. She gently brushed a strand of hair out of Diana's face and smiled.

‟Since I met you..since you told me about yourself...I thought about you. The moment in the inn...made it clear to me then. I..I couldn't deny it any longer...the hug wasn't enough for me..I wanted more", Diana replied and smiled. ‟Even though...where I was born..they stir on a pair like this...some even hate it...but I don't care...I love you too, Riven...more than anything else."

For a short moment, Riven nearly felt like crying because of happiness. She had never felt like this in her whole life. A few tears ran down her cheeks. Diana gently wiped them away with her finger. Someone really loved her. Someone like her.

‟I...there are no words to describe how happy I am. You know...I was unsure at first...does she feel the same way? Will I be heartbroken and something like this", Riven replied and laughed quietly.

Diana just smiled and kissed her again. ‟No need to cry again", she said and pushed Riven gently against her in a tender embrace. ‟You can always talk to me about anything..I told it to you. I thought at some point you would...confess...to me about your feeling..."

‟You waited for me to do it?", Riven asked surprised. She withdrew her head a bit and looked into her eyes.

‟Huh...yes, I did. I'm far too..shy for things like this." Diana laughed and blushed slightly.

‟Shy? You? Good joke", Riven said and laughed quietly.

‟Hey! I...never felt like this before! So..it was...a bit complicated for me!", Diana exclaimed with a grin.

‟And not for me, right?" Riven felt so light. So perfect. ‟But, well..it turned out well."

‟Yeah, it did", Diana replied and slowly got down from her. She sat down besides Riven, but far more closer than before. She put one arm around her, gently stroke her left side of her body.

Riven put her head on Diana's shoulder and enjoyed the moment. Her right hand was around Diana too, while her left stroked her thighs.

‟Quite ironic huh?", Riven whispered.

‟What?"

‟Well...we learned about each other under the night sky...and confessed to each other under it", Riven replied and grinned. She closed her eyes and felt Diana's warm body and enjoyed her closeness.

‟We both have a thing for the night, huh?", Diana said and laughed silently. She put her own head onto Riven's and closed her eyes.

Slowly the time passed, while they didn't move nor talk much. They just sat there, forgetting everything around them. Their world was small and tender and consisted of kisses and gently caress around their bodies, while the moon shone down on them. At some point Diana switched her position from sitting beside her. She laid on the ground, her head on Riven's lap. With a dreamy face, she looked up to her and smiled.

This was a feeling Riven enjoyed, even though she only felt it once in her life and that was when she was a little child. It was a feeling of safety and hope. A feeling like 'everything will get better, there is nothing bad in this world'. Her world had always consisted of violence and fighting, there was no place of such 'weak' feelings in the Noxian military. They wanted soldiers which followed every order without asking.

'Maybe..because I haven't felt this in my entire life...maybe because of this...I enjoy this so much', she thought and held on to Diana.

Riven heard Diana's regular breathing and looked down on her. She seemed to be asleep on her lap. Riven leaned against the tree and closed her eyes as well. Slowly she fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams were filled with happiness and a feeling of safety.

* * *

The distant sound of an explosion, let her wake up. Riven yawned silently and opened her eyes. She looked around for a moment and tried to remember where she was. She felt something on her lap and looked down. Diana was still asleep on her lap, her head had turned around during her sleep so that her forehead pressed against Riven's abdomen.

Riven looked into the distance and another explosion was to hear. Then she saw it. All over Placidium fireworks lit up the sky in many different colors ranging from green, to red, to blue. She looked to the horizon, were the first glimpse of daylight was to see. It had to be only one hour before the sun rose.

She looked back down on Diana, and gently stroked her hair out of her face. 'So..it wasn't a dream after all...she looks so...peaceful and sweet when she's asleep', she thought with a smile. Her hand wandered to her side and stroke her there. Diana awoke with a start and looked around for a moment, before she realized where she was and lay back again.

‟Oh..did I wake you up?", Riven asked and smiled apologizing.

‟No, no. It's okay...how late is it?" Diana looked up to her, while she stretched some muscles.

‟I assume..one hour before sunrise. The Ionians started to let off fireworks..." As she said that another one exploded above Placidium. She could hear some cheering and applauding, even though it was a very faint sound.

‟Huh..", Diana mumbled and snuggled up to Riven. ‟Do we want to go there? You know, to the tree in the gardens and so on.." She closed her eyes again and didn't look really motivated to give up her sleeping place.

Riven gently stroked her back. ‟We could. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea, when the two main actresses show up to greet the new year."

‟Huh..always these duties of showing up...can't we just stay here and I can sleep on your lap a bit longer?", Diana mumbled while she buried her head into Riven's clothing.

‟We could do this...but I guess Irelia and Karma will ask us, where we were at this time", Riven replied with a grin. ‟Even though...I really like the current situation...and to be honest..I feel pretty tired too." Which was not really a wonder. She didn't know the exact time, but it had to be after midnight when she and Diana fell asleep. And now not even the sun was to see.

Diana opened her eyes and looked up to Riven. ‟Huh...you're right. But I will need some more sleep, after we got there and watched the whole thing", Diana complained with a grin.

‟You're not the only one...", Riven replied.

Diana got up into a sitting position and turned around to her. Suddenly she gave her a long, loving kiss on the mouth and smiled. ‟This is how we say..good morning", Diana said and smiled.

‟I really like this sort of wishing somebody a good morning", Riven replied and grinned. She stroked over Diana's cheek before she stood up. She stretched her arms and legs and cracked her neck. ‟Uah...we never sleep like this again, with me leaning against a tree. You get a stiff neck from this."

Diana stood up as well and laughed. She walked over to her crescent blade, which was still rammed inside the earth, and grabbed it. ‟Alright. Next time it will be something more comfortable for our little princess here. How about a comfortable bed for us both?" Diana winked at her.

‟I wouldn't say no this time", Riven answered with a grin. ‟But, if you really want to sleep outside once more...next time I'll sleep on your lap. We will see if you say something like this again", Riven continued and laughed.

‟Alright then. Next time the other way around", Diana replied and joined her laughing.

They both left the northern gardens. A gust of wind let some pink leaves whirling around in the air again. Riven looked back for a moment and smiled. In the beginning morning the whole place looked magical. 'Good memories in this part of the country...never thought that could be possible', she thought before she followed Diana down the long staircase.

On their way down to the main city, other fireworks were let off. Sometimes they even saw some great pictures in the beginning day. Some firework formed crests or Ionian symbols, others showed animals or dragons. They even saw another fiery dragon, like the one from yesterday. Most likely the work of another summoner within the city.

‟You know, Riven...what if we buy a scroll and pin it up on the tree? A bit good luck in the new year couldn't be the worst right?", Diana asked while they walked down.

‟Huh...to be honest, I'm not into stuff like this. But, well, if you want we can do it. Even though I don't have any worries anymore", Riven answered and smiled at her. She still felt butterflies in her stomach and everything seemed to be...good.

‟Then just write down your wishes for the future...I assume this works fine too", Diana replied with a grin.

‟Well...there I have some more ideas right now", Riven said. She adjusted her clothing and grumbled quietly. ‟I can't believe Reina fought in this stuff...it's far too short."

‟It's most likely for entertaining purposes...and I like it. I have a nice view on your legs." She grinned, while Riven blushed slightly. She looked back, down to the city. ‟Lucky for us, it doesn't look very crowded..I think most guests from Valoran are asleep..or to drunk too get up."

Diana was right. As they reached the city, the streets were nearly empty. At least in this outer district of Placidium. In the distant Riven still heard noisy voices of crowded people. Most people, which they met seemed to be Ionian. ‟Ts...Demacia: Nation of justice...and boozers", Riven said with amusement.

‟How can people let go of themselves like this?", Diana asked disgusted. ‟Anyway...let's find a stand which is still opened..or has opened again."

They walked through the city. Some people noted them and greeted them. Most of them with great respect, but some others cheered loudly. Obviously under the influence of strong alcohol. As they got closer to Serene Gardens, more people were around. The streets started to get crowded again and as they nearly reached the entrance to the gardens, they needed to push themselves through bodies.

‟Over there", Diana said suddenly and pointed into a direction, where Riven spotted a still opened stand. She nodded at Diana's direction and walked over.

The vendor behind the display, sat on a small stool. He looked pretty tired and exhausted from a long night. Luckily he was in a far better condition than most Demacians or Piltovians Riven spotted on their way. ‟Yes? What do you want?", he asked as Diana stepped closer and yawned.

‟We wanted to buy two scrolls for the tree. I know it's rather late", Diana answered.

‟Two scrolls? Alright..here. Take these...just take these. No need for money...the other guests left enough", he said with a grin and handled over two scrolls and a single pen. ‟Good fortune for the new year."

‟Thank you. Same thing for you", Diana said and took everything. She walked over to Riven and handed her one of the scrolls.

Slowly they walked on to Serene Gardens, while Riven thought what to write down. She didn't have any worries anymore. She was happy, she had everything. But, then she had an idea. 'Guess...I wrote down my wishes, like Diana said', she thought. She took the pen from Diana and started to write down. 'I only have one wish for the new year...let the love between Diana and me grow and blossom. I want to be with her...forever.'

She knew that this wish was somehow...gooey, but she didn't have any idea what else to write. 'Well, that will do it. It gets burned anyway', she thought and grinned.

The Serene Gardens were filled with people, almost as many as in the evening before. Some of them even stood or sat on the stage, while some children climbed up on trees to get a better view on the great tree in the middle of the gardens. It was filled all over with scrolls, even the branches were covered with paper.

Riven looked up where the elders sat. Even though they try to pretend to be fully awakened and fit, some of them yawned behind her hands. No wonder though, when they had so stayed awake the whole night and morning.

They both went to the giant tree and pinned their scrolls on it. Riven's eyes wandered around many others. On most of them she spotted Ionian writings, but a few were there with letters she could decipher. The wishes varied greatly. Some just had written down things for themselves, others for their families and friends. She tried to get a glimpse on Diana's scroll, but she hid it very well beneath some other scrolls.

‟Don't look. These are my personal wishes", she said with a smirk.

‟You don't tell me?", Riven asked.

‟No. But, it's not too hard for you to think about it", Diana replied and stepped back from the tree.

‟Huh..I guess so. Let's go over there. There we have a great view on the whole spectacle", Riven said and pointed in the direction of the tree, at which she leaned and waited yesterday. Diana nodded and they went to it.

The sun started to rise on the horizon. The sky turned into orange, the stars disappeared, but the moon stood still high above them. There was a small riot within the crowd, as they pushed each other away to make space for a single man. He wore a long red robe, decorated with some Ionian symbols and magical runes. His head was hid, thanks to a wide hood in the same color. A Ionian summoner.

From over here they both watched as he walked towards the tree. Diana put an arm around Riven's hips, gently pulled her closer to her. She laid her head on Riven's shoulder and just watched. Riven herself gently stroked her left side of the body. They earned some glances from a few people who stood around, but nobody said a thing. Not that it would matter in any way.

‟And today..the red sun rises in the east and grants us a new dawn under the sign of the dragon." The summoner's voice was calm. He didn't yell or scream, but everybody could clearly understand him. ‟It reminds us of the new paths and things which are waiting for us. And with it, we leave all our worries and dark thoughts behind to start anew."

He raised his hands and mumbled a spell. For a short moment it looked like his hands and arms were aflame, before he released the magical fire at the tree. Even though it was pure fire, only the scrolls burned. The warmth of the fire, filled the whole gardens. The summoner turned around and raised his hands again.

‟With this...we celebrate the cleansing of our minds and spirits. We celebrate the rebirth of them and start under good fortune in this new year."

Slowly the magical fire dissipated. The remains of the scrolls, were blown away by a gust of wind and only the giant tree stood there. Completely intact. The sun shone brilliantly through the now empty branches and illuminated the whole scenery.

‟And let me remind you of the greatest lesson of this festival. Not only courage, not only strength and not only the seeking of the truth...", the summoner looked over to Riven and Diana. Even though his face was hidden, they could see that a smile played around his lips, ‟Out of any darkness, and may it be black like the void itself...comes the grandest light. The greatest lesson of this festival...is hope. Never lose it, never forget it. The year of the dragon...has begun!"

The crowd cheered up and applauded at the spectacle. Riven and Diana just watched it more or less fascinated, but far too tired to greatly applaud or do something like this. Diana looked up on Riven, while she still was lying on her shoulder. ‟Rather spectacular...don't you think?"

‟Yeah..they know how to start a new year..look there's Karma", Riven replied and pointed to the balcony. Diana followed her finger.

The Enlightened One looked pretty exhausted from everything. Her eyes wandered around the crowd until she spotted Riven and Diana. She waved at them shortly and with a smile on her face. Then she disappeared into the building behind her, most likely to lay down to sleep.

‟You know...we should go to the inn, threw ourselves onto a bed...and sleep the whole day", Riven said and let out another yawn.

‟You've got a point. Let's go then...I don't think Irelia or Karma mind it", Diana replied and yawned. They left the gardens. A stream of people followed them.

The whole city was rather quite right now. Most people went straight to their inns and homes, to get a bit of sleep. Even the stands, which still were built up, were empty. ‟Looks like Ionia went to sleep for this day", Riven said with a smile.

‟Seems so...well, can't blame them", Diana replied. She opened the doors of their inn, as they reached it.

The inside was silent. Not even a fire burnt in the fireside, nor were the paper lanterns lit. A few guests laid on or around some tables and snored quietly. The innkeeper or the attendants were nowhere to see, so they just went straight to their room.

Riven closed the door behind her and already heard, how Diana put off her few armor pieces and slipped out of her boots. She threw herself onto the bed with a sigh and looked to Riven. ‟You wanted to sleep on my lap? Well...", she said with a smirk, ‟here's something more comfortable for our little princess."

Riven laughed silently and slipped out of her sandals and every uncomfortable armor piece. ‟That's fine for me", she replied with a grin. She stretched her muscles again and suddenly felt the fatigue of the other day. To stand up that early, practice the whole day and then stay awake until late into the night. Even though she was a soldier, she needed her rest too.

She went to the bed and laid down besides Diana, which lay on her side. Riven snuggled close up to her, gently pressing her back against Diana's breasts. She felt Diana's hand on her belly and thighs, which gently stroked her. She also felt a soft kiss on her neck and sighed blissfully. Then Diana's lips were at her ear and played with her earlobe. She let out a quiet moan and smiled.

‟I love you", Riven whispered before she closed her eyes.

‟I love you too." She heard Diana's voice whispering in her ear, before she fell asleep.


	10. The Incident

**Author's Note**

More plot twists going around! This chapter took me longer than I expected...I didn't really plan this whole stuff here...it was a spontaneous idea :P

Oh, and I really like to end a chapter with sleeping...huh. Anyway..Have fun!

**Chapter 10**

**The Incident**

**In some tavern, somewhere on Valoran **

‟So...you want me to do this?", a male voice said.

‟Exactly. Is it too much for someone like you?", another voice said. Even though it was a metallic and unnatural voice it sounded...annoyed.

‟Ha! Damn little bitch! My men are the best for this kind of job! You won't find anyone with our equipment!", the man answered and laughed.

‟Good. I have a long list with potential candidates...but, it's good you changed your mind", the voice answered.

‟So...something special about it? Any special requests? It's not a regular attack, right?"

‟Right", said the other person. The person grabbed under his long mantle and laid two pictures on the table. ‟What happens to the rest of the crew or person on board isn't relevant. Kill them, steal their stuff...or do whatever you want with them. But, these two here..are not to be harmed! Steal their coins or something like this...and remember to put this little device into their bag packs."

‟Whatever you wish. As long as the payment is alright."

‟I give you...fifty percent in advance. You'll get the rest, when you do the job as I wished. But, if you fail me...you and your whole..bunch of worthless idiots...will be dead", the metallic voice said.

‟Ha! I'll not be browbeaten by someone like you", the men exclaimed.

‟You'll better be..." the person said. ‟You can't hide from me, If you fail. Go and do it...or your dead by tomorrow." With that the person left the tavern.

* * *

**Harbor of Narbori on Ionia**

It was quite late in the afternoon. The sun already started to sink behind the horizon. But, it was this time when Ionia awoke again from their long sleep after their great new year's festival, even though it was only for a couple of hours. The merchants took down their stands, others the stages and the rest started to tidy up the cities from garbage.

Narbori was already a very busy town. The ferries and ships from Piltover, Demacia and so on didn't stop coming, so the harbor workers have already their hands full of work. Right now one Piltovian ferry laid at the docks. Only a few passengers got out and far more people wanted on board to sail back to their homes.

Outside of the city four riders got closer. A rather strange group for people who didn't know them. Two Ionian woman and two others most likely from somewhere on Valoran. The first two wore traditional Ionian armor and clothing, while the other ones silver armor and a simple travel outfit.

One of the riders was Riven. She had her backpack and her blade by her side. She wore her usual travel outfit again. She looked over the approaching city. She had a strange feeling right now. She entered this country with panic and fear and left it with new found strength, a new goal and a beloved at her side. 'Strange things had happened, huh?', she thought as she rode down the hill into the town.

She looked to her right where Diana rode. She also wore her normal armor again, together with the little pendant what made Riven happy. She looked back to her and smiled. She stroked her thigh for a moment, before grabbing the reins again. There wasn't any need to hide their relationship from the public, as they both didn't mind any glances or something like this. As champions they stood above stuff like this anyway. Riven was happy it turned out this way.

A few hours ago Irelia had woken them up and asked them if they want to take the ferry in the evening or wait another day. Diana had answered that they would do it, even though Riven didn't really wanted to give up her sleeping place on Diana's chest.

Anyway, they got up again and started to pack the few things they had with them. They took a short breakfast before they already left Placidium together with Karma and Irelia. And what a leaving! As they rode through the city, the crowd cheered for them, applauded them. They even got a few presents from the people. 'Theses people..', Riven thought with a smile.

On their little journey back to the harbor, they took the path through Xuen Valley, the other only way to reach Placidium. This path was far more impressive than the one, which they took on their first trip. Left and right from the street were many small inns, villages and a few monasteries. In short: This path symbolized Ionia far better than any other part of the country.

As they reached the city, they gave the same stable master their horses and walked on foot to the docks. The streets were filled with all kinds of travelers. Luckily for them, they made space when Karma and Irelia approached them. Even here some people pointed at Riven and Diana.

‟Don't like this...to be the middle of attention. I don't have a problem on a stage or something like this...but the whole watching and so on..", she whispered to Diana.

‟Yeah, I know what you mean. Don't matter..there are the docks", Diana answered.

The ship which lay there was a pretty big ferry from Piltover, far bigger than the one with which Riven had traveled. Some sailors brought some boxes and barrels on board, while on the other side passengers entered the ship to sail home.

‟So..this is a goodbye then?", Riven asked and turned around to Karma and Irelia.

‟Not for long, I assume. We will meet again in the League. We still have some duties here, after that we will come back", Karma answered and smiled. ‟It was an honor to have you as our guests."

‟It was a pleasure", Diana said and returned the smile.

‟Yeah..I think so", Riven replied.

‟It was, Riven", Irelia said with a grin. ‟After all..you found peace within yourself. I hope to see you both again...if not in the League, then on the Fields of Justice."

‟Alright, alright. It was a pleasure to be here", Riven said and rubbed the back of her head.

‟Good luck on your way home to the League...and good luck for both of you ", Karma said and winked at them. Riven blushed slightly and even Diana did it too. Irelia laughed quietly.

‟Eh..thank you for everything", Riven replied and Diana just nodded.

‟No need to be shy here." Karma laughed. ‟I have eyes you know...well then..go on board before it departs without you."

‟Good fortune for your future!", Irelia said to them and bowed.

They both bowed before the Ionians, wished them a good fortune and luck as well, then turned around and walked on to the bridge. A man and a few sailors stood there and sold tickets to the waiting passengers. They bought two of them, in which a more or less good cabin was included, and boarded the ship.

A bell rang and the bridge was taken in and slowly the Piltovian ship left the island of Ionia. Riven and Diana stood at the stern side of the ferry and watched as the city slowly got smaller. Karma and Irelia turned around and disappeared into the crowd of humans. They felt a fresh sea breeze on their skin and heard the motors of the ship working under them.

‟How do you feel?", Diana asked and put an arm around Riven's hip, gently stroking her.

‟Balanced and happy...a feeling I've never had in my entire life...and you?", Riven replied and sighed with joy, while she put an arm around Diana too.

‟Everything turned out perfectly..the festival, the spreading of the truth..but, the most important thing, stand right beside me", Diana said and smiled.

‟Now you're getting too...gooey", Riven replied and laughed quietly.

‟I speak only truth", she said and gave Riven a kiss on her cheek.

‟Hm..no mouth today? Only a good morning kiss?", Riven asked with a grin.

‟Oh..now you're getting greedy", Diana answered and laughed. ‟But, anyway..because it's you..."

The time slowly passed, while they both stood at the stern side and exchanged caresses and silken words with each other. The moon started to rise and the stars sparkled in the night sky. The stern side slowly got empty as it went darker and darker unless nobody else was here. Only the moon and a few lights lit the surrounding area.

Slowly Riven let go of Diana and looked into her eyes, just enjoying this moment of peace. She had a great feeling and suddenly something came into her mind. She nearly forgot it, because of everything else what had happened. 'Your body and spirit need to be one...'

‟You know...there...there is something I want to try out", she said to Diana, which smiled at her words.

‟I think..I know what do you want. Go on. You can do it..your mind and body is one now, right?", Diana encouraged her and stepped back.

Riven dropped her backpack and drew her sword from her back. Luckily Irelia had given her a practical and fitting leather bandolier, where she could carry her blade around on her back. As she drew it the green runes glimmered. But not like they usually did, no this time it was far stronger and brighter then ever before. A part of the whole stern side was illuminated by the light.

‟You sword clearly understands you", Diana said.

‟Yeah...I will try it out now. I will summon...the whole blade. It will most likely take some time...if you want to go in..", Riven replied and sat down in the middle of the deck.

‟Ts. I wait here for you...I believe in you!"

She held her sword with both hands before herself and closed her eyes. She didn't do this meditation in a rather long time, so it took her some time, to get a feeling of the runic energy again. She felt it. But it wasn't the same feeling. No. This time it was...stronger and far more powerful than before. It was like..her sword felt how she found new strength and a restored will.

Riven tried to catch the magical energy. The runic flow. But it was like catching an eel. It always slipped away from here. 'Don't force yourself..", Riven thought and relaxed. Her mind drifted back to the stage, her promise to the people there. She remembered the northern gardens and the first kiss, she shared with Diana.

'I have something to rebuild..I have something to protect..I have someone to protect..someone who loves me...', she thought. Somehow she felt that, that wasn't enough for her sword. It wanted more from her.

'Yes. I made a mistake back then. I shattered my blade and hoped to start anew...but I couldn't start like this, unless I faced it. Unless I found something to fight for. I crushed my own demons', Riven thought and felt the magical energy within her fingers. She felt an unbelievable power. 'I want to fight again. Fight for my beliefs...like I did back in Noxus army.'

Her whole body started to tingle with excitement and energy. Somehow..she knew what to do now. ‟I summon you...Blade of the Exile", she said with a resounding, but still calm voice. Riven needed to close her eyes, as green runic energy lit the whole deck. Then it fainted as soon as it came.

Riven felt a heavy weight in her hands and slowly opened her eyes. She held her full blade within her hands. It was the same feeling, like in the League. No. Not the same. It felt far better, she felt new energy and power in every vein of her body. She looked over to Diana, which looked surprised, but nevertheless happy.

‟You did it! You summoned your whole sword!", she exclaimed and drew her sword. ‟How about a little fight then?" She winked at her.

‟Well, I think...", as soon as Riven started to speak, but suddenly she felt how the energy left her. She tried to keep the focus on her blade, but it was meaningless. The summoned pieces of the sword, disappeared into ashes and were blown away by the sea wind.

‟Huh..that was short lived", Diana said and withdrew her sword with a smile.

‟Damn it", Riven cursed quietly.

‟It was your first time..I think you did a great job there...and hey, I suppose you will be able to hold the summoning longer with more training." She smiled encouraging, and stretched her arms.

‟Well..I suppose so. By the way..how long was I away?"

‟Not that long. If I had to guess...half an hour or less", Diana replied. ‟Shall we go to our cabin?"

‟Yeah. Let's go", Riven said and grabbed her backpack. 'Half an hour..huh..I need to summon it immediately, when I need it...this will take time", Riven thought while she followed Diana.

They entered the inside of the ship, which was the typical Piltovian style. Practical. Most of the corridors, which were rather big and not like the ones from the ferry which Riven took on her arrival, were made out of something metallic, but many carpets muted the noise. Nevertheless, it wasn't a very..comfortable ship.

The corridors were lit by some hextech devices. They only met a few other passengers on their way and some sailors. Riven saw how some of them were equipped with sabers and pistols. 'Rather well equipped for a civilian passenger ship...', Riven thought.

After a short search for their cabin, Diana finally opened the door and they stepped in. Two beds and a little cupboard as well as a small table, were nearly everything inside it. Well, if you don't count the little window which showed nothing but water and darkness.

‟Well..that's enough, I guess. That's not a long journey anyway", Riven said and dropped her backpack near the little window. She looked out, but only saw the reflecting moon on the water. The water was nearly as smooth as a mirror.

‟Yep. Even though I hoped as champions we get something better", Diana replied and sat down on the bed. ‟Anything interesting out there?", she asked, while she put off some of her armor.

‟Only darkness...", Riven replied and blinked. 'Huh?', she thought and stepped closer to the window. She believed to see something in the distance. A faint red light, which came closer. ‟Do you see that, Diana?", she asked.

Diana stood up and looked through the window. As it came closer, the red light was obviously some sort of flame. A torch or something like this. Suddenly both of them heard the sound of a bell which was rung frantically. ‟Damn it...that's the last thing we need", Diana said and grabbed her blade. She put on her armor again.

There was no other doubt. The red light belonged to another ship. As it got closer the silhouette was clearly to see. ‟They extinguished all their torches and light sources...damn it. Let's go to the captain and...", Riven started to say, but she was interrupted by a loud explosion. They heard panicking people and yelled orders.

‟Shit let's get moving", Diana said and left the cabin.

Riven grabbed her own blade and followed Diana. 'No relaxing evening this time', she thought and stretched her muscles.

They left their cabin in a hurry and ran on the outside of the ferry. The pirate ship already came closer and closer. Other canon shots were fired, but they didn't hit their ship. 'Warning shots', Riven thought. Panicking passengers made it hard for them to come forward. She was some sailors who grabbed pistols and rifles.

One of them looked in their direction and ran towards them.

‟Here you are! You're Riven and Diana right? Champions of the League?", he asked.

‟Yeah. What is it?", Diana asked.

‟The captain wanted to speak with you! Follow me! Fast!"

The three of them ran through the ship and climbed up some ladders. Riven looked to the starboard side. They were nearly in range to board them. Riven believed to hear their loud noises and laughing.

As they reached it, the bridge was a more or less opened platform a bit higher above the rest of the decks and was only protected by some glass on the front side and a roof, most likely against bad weather conditions. The captain already awaited them. He looked pretty nervous.

‟Can your crew fight?", Diana asked, getting straight to the point and didn't leave the man any choice to say something. ‟We're champions of the League..but even for us, it's a big tough fighting a complete ship."

‟We're all trained in hand to hand combat. This part of the ocean is dangerous enough. Besides, we have a full load of artificial defenders under deck. But, I need you both to organize and rally my man...it's their first fight", the captain answered. He looked over to a radio equipment. ‟There's no chance we can get Piltover on the phone. They're too far away..and until a bird reached Ionia we will be finished. It's only us."

‟We can make it. It's..", Riven started to speak before they heard a loud voice. Riven looked over to the pirate ship. It came from there, then they heard a man started talking, most likely empowered by some magical device. His voice was clearly to hear.

‟Hey there...nice ship you have there...wouldn't be good for ya, if we start to shoot our little friends here!" The pirate ship was suddenly lit by some fires. Riven clearly saw some monstrous cannons, directly pointed at the ferry. They got loaded just in this moment, but with a strange small cannon ball. Somehow unfitting for their size.

‟If you think about resistance...think again! These little babies make short process, with anyone on board..well, you can let us come aboard and give us your trinkets and money...or get killed! You have...about two minutes before we start shooting!", the voice yelled.

There was a short silence on the bridge. The sailors looked to their captain, while he looked to Riven and Diana. On the other decks they clearly could hear the scared screaming of people. For a short moment, Riven was back in Ionia. She remembered the attack on one village. She heard the voices again. She took a deep breath to calm down. 'We need a clear head now', she thought.

‟These are not our everyday pirates, if they want to sink our ship like this", Diana said with a calm voice. ‟I mean..how do they get at our treasures then?"

‟What do we do?", the captain asked.

Riven walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down on the pirate ship. The massive canons were pointed at the lower decks. Somehow they reminded her of something. Their structure, their style. ‟Shit..", she exclaimed as it hit her.

‟What is it, Riven?", Diana asked.

‟Fucking bastards...can't imagine how they got their hands on this kind of weaponry", Riven said and took a deep breath. ‟These aren't any normal canons. They..they nearly look like melters."

‟Melters? What the fuck is this?", a sailor asked and looked to Riven.

‟You don't say...?", Diana asked. Her voice reached from a surprise to a frightened tone.

‟These are fucking war machines from Zaun. They don't just shoot cannon balls...these are chemical weapons. One or two shots on the lower decks and the freed gas would be enough to kill anyone down there", Riven said and crunched her teeth. Pictures of Couer Valley flushed in her mind, she remembered the devastating power of these canons during her time in Ionia. The necrotic and deadly effects of the chemical weapons.

‟No choice. Let them come aboard..if we're lucky they only grab our money and sail away again", Riven said frustrated about the situation.

‟Ah shit..", Diana exclaimed angrily. The other sailors and even the captain didn't look very happy either, but here wasn't a choice to make. When the passengers should remain alive, they need to surrender.

‟Here's the captain of the Piltovian ferry...we surrender. Come aboard..but please don't harm the passengers", the captain said through another magical device. They heard the laughing of the pirate crew. ‟Machine room..all engines stop. At any sailor or civilian on board..do not resist!", the captain said with a somehow helpless voice.

Riven heard how bridges were deployed and the pirates, which were boarding the ferry. She felt an unbelievable hatred right now. She looked over to Diana, which crunched her teeth. ‟Damn it", she cursed quietly.

They heard pirates who climbed up some ladders and opened doors. They also heard some screaming, crying and many curses from the passengers, but as well from the pirates. Then some of them stood on the bridge, They pointed their pistols and rifles at them.

With no other choice right now, Riven raised her arms and clasped them behind her head. Diana and the others did the same thing. The pirates didn't take any further notice and started to grab anything which looked valuable. They did it fast and professional. 'Diana was obviously right..', Riven thought. One of them looked at her blade and then her body, a dirty grin on his face.

‟Don't even think about it", Diana snarled to the man. Riven looked to her for a short moment, but glanced back at the pirate then.

He laughed. ‟A bit girl on girl, huh?", he said with a dirty grin. Riven and Diana just glared at him. The pirate turned around his head. ‟Hey, Cap! Aren't these two here our little princesses?", he yelled.

Another man stepped on the bridge. He was huge and buff. His black hair was cut short and scars were on his face. He wore a long mantle, sabers and pistols. He looked more or less like a typical pirate captain or leader of a gang of bandits.

‟Oh they are", he said. It was the same voice, who ordered them to surrender. ‟You two. Show me your cabin..and no funny things...you know I don't care about League protection and stuff like this...a bullet in your head is enough to kill you."

Guns were pointed at their faces and Riven crunched her teeth. ‟Alright, fine..as long as this bastard stop staring at me", she snarled and walked on. Diana followed her, as well the captain of the pirate ship and other crew members.

As they walked through the ship, they saw that the pirates were busy at work. They opened doors, collected jewelry and gold and anything which looked valuable.

‟Luckily they only care about the money and trinkets", Riven whispered to Diana, which nodded.

'But, it's far too silent', Riven thought and looked around. The passengers and sailors didn't say a thing anymore, and even most of the pirates were silent and did their job.

‟I open the door", Riven said and put her hands down, as she did it, she already felt a gun in her back. She opened it and went in, together with the rest.

‟Sit down on the bed...and don't move!", the captain said. They did as they were ordered and sat down. The pirates started to look around. They opened their backpacks, the cupboard and so on in search for any valuables.

‟Not a glorious chapter huh?", Riven whispered to Diana.

‟Yeah...but at least the passengers are alright and alive", she answered quietly.

They took their time for searching around. Luckily Riven didn't bring much to Ionia only a few gold coins. The picture of Fury Company was worthless for beings like them..the only thing was the Ionian presents, which they took with them. Riven crunched her teeth, as she saw how shameless they scrabbled in their backpacks.

‟We have anything. You two..don't fucking move. If I see you outside or one of my men sees you..we will start shooting. Understand? We will blow up this whole damn ship..alright?", the Captain said as his crew members already left.

‟Got it", Riven replied and clenched her hands.

‟Yeah", Diana said. The door was shut as the captain left the room.

‟Piece of worthless..", Riven cursed. She stood up and looked outside of the window. Luckily, their cabin was on the right side of the ship. She could clearly see how one of the cannons was pointed directly at their cabin.

‟Dammit!", Diana exclaimed and walked to the window to look out too.

The pirates were in a hurry now. They ran and stormed back to their ship, their hands full of bags, most likely filled with any stuff they could find. They heard how sailors started to curse the pirates with many colorful insults.

‟I wonder though..how did they get such equipment?", Diana asked as they watched how the bridges were taken in.

‟I can't tell you. These weren't any normal melters anyway...they had a similar style, but were built to fit on a ship. The one I know were big monstrous machines", Riven answered as she watched how the pirate ship slowly sailed away. She heard how the machines started to work again. Riven's mind started to work. Why had some pirates like this, such technology in their hands?

‟Well, let's go back to the captain shall we?", Diana suggested and Riven nodded.

‟Yeah...let's see if they're fine", Riven replied and left their place on the window.

As soon as they stepped outside, they heard an loud explosion. It was far louder than any normal canon. The ship started to waver under them, like giant waves would hit it. Riven tried to get a hold and leaned against one of the walls of the corridor.

‟Woah...", she exclaimed. She felt how her stomach started to rumble from the movement.

‟What was that?", Diana asked and looked around. She leaned against the other wall. ‟That wasn't a canon shoot, right?"

‟No. That was something far bigger", Riven answered. They started to run again, as the ship slowly calmed down again.

As they stepped on the bridge again, the captain and the other sailors looked pretty shocked. ‟You need to look at that..." The captain gave them two binoculars and pointed into the direction in which the pirate ship fled. Riven looked through it and couldn't believe her eyes.

The water was burning. Nothing was left of the ship, a few wooden planks swam in the ocean, here and there a dead body and a few barrels as well as some ammunition for the melters.

‟What the..?", Riven said and put down the binoculars.

‟What exactly happened?", Diana asked and looked back to the captain.

‟I can't tell you. As soon as they sailed away and were out of range, the whole thing exploded", the captain explained.

‟I never heard that Zaunite melter weapons fail that badly...and I know this really good", Riven replied and looked to the remains for the ship.

‟Something is not right." Diana spoke of what Riven had thought. ‟They attacked us, then their whole ship exploded...and these guys weren't any regular pirates. They did their job fast, silent and professional...no, no, no. Something is obviously not right."

‟Guess you're right...but who could have an interest like this? I mean...what was the purpose of this whole thing, then?", Riven asked and Diana shrugged.

‟I don't know", she replied. ‟Maybe we will find out more in the League."

‟Well, at least we're still alive. Piltover will pay anything back to all passengers and to you champions", the captain said.

‟I'm sorry that we were no use at all", Riven said and sighed. ‟But we're not magicians..we're close combat fighters."

‟It's okay. They didn't play fair...otherwise we would kicked their asses", the captain said and laughed quietly. He stepped to the radio equipment. ‟Alright then. Machine room full speed ahead!" He looked over to the helmsman. ‟Set course to Piltover again. I want to reach it was soon as possible. You two should get some sleep", he said over his shoulder and they nodded.

‟Yeah, we will. Hopefully nothing else will happen", Riven said and turned around.

‟Sleep well", the captain said, before he looked back into the distant.

Riven and Diana went back to their cabin and laid themselves on Diana's bed, close to each other. Diana lay on her back, while Riven right beside her. She snuggled up to her and sighed.

‟What a night..and we couldn't do anything", Riven said. She felt Diana's hand on her cheek, which gently stroked her.

‟Yeah...but, well, like the captain said everyone is fine...that is alright", Diana replied and yawned quietly. ‟Let's get some sleep, huh?", she said and smiled to her.

‟Yeah...best idea I suppose", Riven said and returned the smile. She placed her head on Diana's chest, listening to her steady heartbeat, before she slowly closed her eyes.

‟I'm your pillow again?", Diana whispered and laughed quietly.

‟Yep...I really like it", Riven whispered back. She felt Diana's warm hands on her body, how she softly stroked her. Then she slowly fell asleep.


	11. Conclusion

**Author's Note**

Technology incoming! This chapter really felt like: Writing two medieval knights, how they see an modern city. Oh, and another character makes her first appearance! And more plot twists! Have fun!

**Chapter 11 **

**Conclusion**

‟Everyone pack up! We're reaching Piltover Harbor in the next half an hour! For everyone who wants a compensation for the pirate attack, go to the harbor bureau. Our sailors will bring you there!" The captain's voice was clear to hear, in every part of the ferry.

Riven and Diana already stood at the bow of the ship, where they could see the approaching City of Progress. It was a bit after midday, the sky was clear blue and the sun stood above them. In this bright sunlight, Piltover was even more impressive than ever before. Even from this far away, they could see hundreds of moving objects, most likely their 'cars', the giant skyscrapers which stood close to each other and giant gears which most likely drove some machines. A bit farther away, they saw the giant industries of Piltover.

The last days on the ship wasn't very exciting or anything like this. After the incident with the pirates nothing more had happened, which made them wonder even more. They still thought about it and which faction could have an interest in something like this. An attack and after that, their attackers explode? It was weird. But, well, without any evidence this was a useless endeavor.

Nevertheless, Riven had at least made some progress with the summoning of her sword. She even fought with Diana once, even though it was only a short moment. The concentration needed to hold up the blade and keep an eye on the battle, was still rather hard for Riven. At least she didn't need half an hour for the summoning process. 'Will I ever be able to do this anyway', she had asked herself.

‟So, there we are again", Diana said. A fresh sea breeze played with her long hair. She stroked a strand of hair out of her face and stretched her arms. ‟It was about damn time."

‟Yeah. I prefer ground under my feet", Riven replied and looked to her side for a moment. Their backpacks still stood there. They already started to pack in the morning, so they didn't need to rush now and they could be the first who left the ferry.

‟Let's see when the next carriage or something like this depart", Riven said and watched the moving city. Piltovians looked like they were always in a hurry.

‟No airship? Would be faster." Diana grinned. Riven grimaced only at the thought of traveling with such a thing. The wind which shook the airship on her way to Piltover and the fact to be hundreds of meters above the safe earth were enough for her.

‟Not even a horse would bring me inside of one of these things again. You can fly if you want..I come later than", Riven said and smiled. She stretched her arms a bit and cracked her neck.

‟Alright the classical way", Diana nudged her with a grin. ‟So..what will happen next?"

‟Huh...I think we should tell the League about the incident on the ship, as soon as we get there. Otherwise...I don't know. Guess it's usual daily routine then. Training, fighting, sleeping..oh and sharing nice moments", Riven answered and laughed quietly.

‟Doesn't sound that bad. The last point sounds interesting enough", Diana replied and grinned. ‟You don't have something in mind?"

‟Not quite yet. I will tell you in time", Riven answered plainly. Even though she had some 'dreams' about stuff which she wanted to do with Diana. She blushed slightly and focused on Piltover again. Luckily Diana focused on the city too. They saw how a few airships flew into the sky.

‟I hope it will be a nice surprise then", Diana replied and smiled to her mysteriously. ‟Looks like your lucky, Riven. I think on of these airships is the one which would bring us to the League."

‟Lucky me", Riven sighed and grabbed her backpack. ‟Here we are again..the city of Piltover."

The approaching docks, were nearly empty. Only a few other people walked around and most likely organized things. Riven saw some of these robots, which carried big crates around. Other ships lay at the docks, some got loaded while some others were most likely passenger ships or private ships from rich people.

‟To be honest...it's a strange city. I wonder how they can live like this. I mean with all the technology stuff and so on", Diana said and grabbed her own backpack. They both walked slowly to the bridge, which would let them down on the docks.

‟I believe you need to grow up here, so that you can live with this. I mean...just look at these strange robotic things there", Riven replied and pointed at the thin, artificial creatures. ‟They walk around the city, like it's normal...before I got here, I only knew about Blitzcrank...but here it's normal."

‟They look...creepy for me", Diana said and grimaced. ‟Not as creepy as Orianna, but well.."

‟You've got a point", Riven said and remembered Orianna. She fought with her in one match. A robotic clockwork like being. When she remembered her voice, Riven still got cold shivers down her spine.

They watched as a few sailors threw ropes at the docks, were other ones waited for them and moored the ship. They heard yelled orders from around the ship and finally they could leave the ferry, as the sailors put down the bridge. Luckily they were first on land.

It was rather silent in this area of the city. In the distant worked a few loading cranes and a few cars drove by. They saw a few warehouses in the distance, otherwise nothing more was to see. They didn't pay much attention to it either.

‟Where to go first?", Riven asked Diana.

‟We could go to the harbor bureau..but well, the League pays us the gold anyway. So no need for it...I think we should ask when the next carriage or something like this leave the city. And by our luck, I assume we need to wait a day here", Diana answered. Riven sighed.

‟Gosh...but, fine. Let's go..as long as I don't ride an airship", Riven replied. Diana laughed and gave her a short kiss on the cheek, before they walked on.

‟Wait a second!" They heard a voice behind them and turned around. A sailor ran to them and stopped.

‟Yeah? Did we something forgot or something like this?", Diana asked.

‟No. No. The captain just asked, if you both could make a short stop at the Piltovian Police Department? You know, for a short report about the little incident out on the ocean...I mean you...Miss Riven? You seemed to know about their weaponry...so it would be good", the sailor said.

‟Huh..I guess we can do that", Riven replied and looked over to Diana, which nodded.

‟Yeah, we do it. We're not in a hurry so..", Diana said.

‟Thank you. I will tell the captain about it. Have a good day", the sailor said and walked back to the ship.

‟Well then..let's get going", Diana said.

‟Yep. Maybe they have something to tell us about it", Riven replied.

‟Any idea where to go? I don't know this place very well.."

‟Eh...just let us go into the city. I mean the department is one of the most important buildings. Will be easy to find", Riven said and stretched her arms a bit. She turned her head around for a moment. Behind them were only a few other passengers. A few of them were led by sailors, most likely to the bureau to get their money back. No one else was to see. Or at least...no one suspicious.

‟What is it?", Diana asked and looked over her shoulder as well, then back to Riven.

‟Nothing...I..just had a strange feeling." Riven looked around before she walked on. 'Strange...it felt like someone is...following us? Am I paranoid?', she thought and frowned. She shook her head and took a deep breath. 'Guess it's because of the whole pirate thing and so on', she thought. But, even though she tried to persuade herself, it felt like a second shadow walked behind her.

The main city of Piltover was a center of progress, freedom and money. Even though Piltover was a city of technology, money still ruled the world. The main street in the heart of the city, was crowded with thousands of people. Store at store were lined up, reaching from some nearly classical forges to hextech shops which sold stuff Riven never had seen before. And nearly every single one was filled with people, ranging from from children to old men.

When they looked up, they saw a few small zeppelins which flew deep over the city as well as some giant banners, hung from the highest skyscrapers of the city. Riven really felt out of place, with her old fashioned sword and clothing. And her armor pieces, of course. They got a few curious glares, but more or less because of their weaponry. Some nodded respectfully at them, when they recognized them as champions.

‟Wow", Riven plainly said and looked around as they walked through the crowd of people. It was pretty noisy. Chatting people, the sound of forges or the distant sounds of driving vehicles. ‟I always knew that Piltover is the most modern city in the world...but...wow."

‟Feels like time travel, huh? When I think about Mount Targon and how...classical everything was back then...this here is the complete opposite of it", Diana replied. Her voice sounded a bit crushed from the impressions.

They reached a giant square, with an enormous fountain in the middle of it. Benches were built up around it as well as some small cafes. People sat there and chatted with each other. All in all it was a pretty peaceful place, sometimes disrupted by the short, loud noise of a working gear.

‟You know..if we both don't know it better..someone could assume that the world is a peaceful place", Riven said, as they passed the fountain. Diana looked up to some signs.

‟Yep. I guess this is why Piltover is a city, where many people want to travel. Here they can forget for a moment", Diana replied and pointed in some direction. ‟There we go. Just let them give a short report and then go on...I want to be back in the League as soon as possible."

Riven nodded and followed her, while getting a glimpse of the sign. 'Piltover's Police Department..guess we're right'. They left the main street of Piltover.

Slowly they walked on between skyscrapers. The sun was nearly not to see, as the high buildings blocked out most of the sunlight. The middle of the street was separated and cars drove there. Riven really felt like she was in another time. She remembered Noxus streets. Carriages and horses were their transport method and the highest building of the entire city was the High Command. Here in Piltover..nearly every second building was as high, as it.

After a short walk, they stopped before a proportional small building between two skyscrapers. A staircase led up the entrance, above the building's entrance was 'Police Department: Piltover' written. Behind many windows they saw some people working, most of them wore some kind of uniform. At the right sight, they both saw other cars standing around, some sort of light on their roof.

Riven sighed quietly. ‟Maybe Caitlyn's on duty. Wouldn't be too strange, then", she said, and walked up the stairs.

‟Yeah. This city gives me a headache", Diana replied. She opened the door and stepped in, Riven beside her.

The Police Department from Piltover was a strange place. Directly in front of them sat two women behind a giant desk, writing on some papers. Two other men stood before them, most likely reporting some crimes or something like this. Left from them was a glass door. The sign on it read: ‟Waiting Room". On the other side were dozens of desks, everyone filled with papers, records and so on. The rang of hextech devices filled the air, as well as the noise which the police officers made.

As one of the women got free, Riven stepped closer to the desk.

‟Yes? What can I do for you?", she asked and looked up.

‟We're passengers from the ferry from Ionia to Piltover. We wanted to report a most likely pirate attack on the ship. The captain had asked us this favor", Riven said and looked down.

‟Ah, yes alright"; the woman looked up and examined them both for a moment. ‟Wait a second. You're Riven, the Exile and Diana, Scorn of the Moon am I right?"

‟Yeah, you're right", Diana said, and stepped closer too.

‟Well..wait a second", she said and grabbed something, which looked a bit like the radio equipment from the ferry. ‟Yeah...the Sheriff there? Well the two champions...Riven? Yeah, she's here, along with her friend...Okay, I send them up." She put the thing aside again and looked up. ‟The Sheriff wanted to talk to you. Go up the stairs, the room at the end of the corridor."

‟Eh...alright? Thank you for that", Riven said somehow confused. She and Diana nodded at the woman and walked to the staircase and up.

‟Huh? Caitlyn wants to talk with us?", Diana asked and looked to Riven.

‟Yeah. Strange somehow...maybe this report is something more important, than just a normal report", Riven answered and thought about it for a moment. ‟Well, we see it soon enough."

The first floor of the department, was far quieter than the ground-floor. Dozens of doors led to different persons, departments and so on. ‟Murder, theft", Riven read quietly the writings on the doors, before a loud voice interrupted her.

‟I thought that I TOLD you NOT to punch through this wall! We had a plan about it..you remember?!", a familiar voice yelled. It sounded like Caitlyn, even though very agitated.

Another voice answered her: ‟I did everything right! I mean there in arrest right now! Okay..maybe punching through the front wall wasn't my best idea..."

‟The whole building nearly came down!", Caitlyn yelled back.

‟Stop raging, cupcake. The most important thing is, that we have these criminals", the other voice replied.

‟I have a talk about that with you again Vi! Besides, I told you: Stop calling me 'cupcake'."

‟Aww...is it too embarrassing for you? Should I start to calling you...huh...sweetheart? Well, this escalated quickly!"

‟Vi!" They heard how someone laughed.

Riven and Diana looked at each other for a moment before knocking at the door to Caitlyn's office. ‟Yes? Come in!", an irritated Caitlyn said.

They stepped into her office and looked around for a moment. A medium sized room, filled with equipment and records. They spotted her sniper rifle, hanging on the wall. Under it enough ammunition for a whole unit. But, it wasn't only Caitlyn. Another rather tall girl sat in the room.

She wore a rather strange combination reaching from black pants to something which looked like a white corset, which was obviously made out of some light metal or stuff like this. She had short pink hair, while one side was cut short and the other long. Some glasses hung around her neck. The word ‟Vi" was tattooed under her left eye. Her feet lay on Caitlyn's desk.

‟Hey, cupcake. Special guests?", Vi asked. She had something like a lollipop in her mouth and looked back to Caitlyn. She turned around and sighed.

‟Yes, Vi. Special guests..hello Riven and Diana", she greeted them and sat down behind her table, while making a gesture to them both to sit down too.

‟Hello Caitlyn..you wanted to talk to us?", Riven asked and sat down, Diana did the same. Vi was friendly enough to put down her feet.

‟Yeah. There are some things want to talk with you...I think it has something to do with the attack on your ferry", Caitlyn answered.

‟Yeah. Cupcake is on the case again and she thinks our little neighborhood friends Zaun has something to do with it", Vi said. Caitlyn glared over to her and sighed.

‟Well, before we get to the point...this over there is Vi my new partner", Caitlyn explained and sighed.

‟Yep. Piltover's finest. Nice to meet ya. Oh, why you sighed Cait? Nothing wrong with me, is it?", Vi asked and laughed.

‟Nice to meet you too", Diana said and leaned back in her seat. ‟I think Riven can explain it better than me."

‟Alright enough with that. Explain me what happened on the ferry", Caitlyn asked. She got her normal detective's attitude again.

‟Okay. So at first it looked like a usually pirate attack. We left the Piltovian harbor only a few hours ago. The captain told us, that this part of the ocean was the most dangerous part of our journey because Piltover is out of radio range and Ionia out of bird range. We spotted another ship, which came closer pretty fast. Their captain made demands, if we didn't fulfill them he would kill any civilian on board", Riven explained.

‟As they turned on their lights..well, I got a glimpse on their canons. They reminded me on modified melter canons from Zaun."

‟I know about them", Vi suddenly said. ‟Hey, don't look at me like this. When you're working for some underground gang you hear all kinds of stuff. Chemical weaponry which is able to wipe out entire parts of the country."

‟Yeah, you're right Vi. We surrendered and let them come aboard...Diana stated that they were not our everyday pirates. They worked professional and fast..even though after they escaped their whole ship was blown up", Riven continued.

‟Yes. They only looked like normal pirates...I think they are some kind of...mercenaries of stuff like this", Diana said. Vi and Caitlyn looked at each other for a moment.

‟Do you remember about the criminal case? When we were in the zeppelin?", Caitlyn asked Riven. She thought about it for a moment.

‟Yeah...why? It was a theft wasn't it?"

‟We're sure about now, that this theft was done by mercenaries with a connection to Zaun", Caitlyn explained and Riven frowned. ‟Vi could you explain? But, spare the details."

‟Yeah. The bomb they used to breach into the lab, was kind of old school explosives. My gang and some mercenaries use them often. Easy to build, but explosive like a Heimerdinger turret", Vi said.

She cracked her neck, before continuing: ‟ So I thought some mercenaries could do that. Finally an old man in some shady tavern at the suburbs from Piltover told me about them. He told me about a masked person with a metal face who met one of the biggest mercenary gang leaders within miles..old man owned me a favor."

‟We concluded, that this could be most likely our target. Even though they disappeared from screen after Vi asked the innkeeper. As Jayce has a...rivalry with a man called 'Victor" from Zaun, I concluded that Zaun needs to be behind this...even though I could be terribly wrong."

‟Aww..cupcake you are never wrong", Vi said with a grin.

‟What did they steal anyway?", Diana asked.

‟Enhancement technology. It's an early concept of technology created by Jayce. With this technology a normal civilian would be able to lift hundreds of pounds. In short: It's a form of magical items like the ones on the Fields of Justice for everyone", Caitlyn explained.

‟So...you suggest that this whole stuff was done by Zaun? But, why? And wouldn't the League interferes, when they are too..aggressive?", Riven asked. She heard how Vi crunched her teeth.

‟Yeah, they would. But, they can easily say: 'Oww no, we didn't know about anything. They must have stolen our items..blablabla'", Vi said.

‟So..let me get this straight. You think that the theft and the attack on the ferry, was done by hired mercenaries from Zaun?", Diana asked.

‟Yes. The canons, which Riven described, are Zaunite weapons. And I never heard about a case, where other military or pirates get their hands on this kind of technology. The only exception...well..", Caitlyn looked at Riven, which nodded.

‟Would be the Noxian military during the Ionian war...", Riven ended the sentence and rubbed the back of her head. ‟Is there something we can do?"

‟Right now..no. You helped me with my conclusion and now I'm pretty sure that these criminals working together with Zaun. But, I need to find some hard evidence before asking the League", Caitlyn said.

‟Would be a nice strike against them", Vi said with a grin and cracked her fingers.

‟Alright then...you have something else for us?", Diana asked.

‟Not really at the moment...but, do you want a cup of tea now? I know you want to go back to the League, but well the next means of travel will depart tomorrow morning. You could tell me something about Ionia", Caitlyn said with a smile, while she already searched for a cup of tea.

‟Huh, then you're right. What do you say?", Riven asked to Diana.

‟Nothing against it. We don't have anything else to do."

As they got their cup of tea, Riven and Diana started to talk about their little journey through the Ionian country. Caitlyn and Vi listened interested, even though Vi looked more interested to Diana's hand which lay on Riven's thigh, more or less a thoughtless gesture. Vi grinned slightly, but didn't say anything and just keeping on listening.

As the sun slowly started to set and the electrical and magical lights from Piltover were turned on, Riven ended the talking about Ionia.

‟Pretty neat story", Caitlyn said and smiled. Riven rubbed the back of her head and emptied her cup of tea.

‟Huh..if you say so", she replied.

‟Well, it's getting dark and you both should get a room in a hotel. I will bring you there...it's shift end anyway." She got up and stretched her arms and legs, the three others followed her example.

‟Thank you, but you don't need to", Riven said.

‟It's on the way. What about you Vi?", Caitlyn asked.

‟Got something to do. I'll see you tomorrow cupcake", she winked at Caitlyn, which sighed. ‟And you two, too. Have a good night...hopefully it's not too..'steamy'." She grinned ambiguous at them, while she took out another lollipop from somewhere and put it into her mouth. Then she left the office.

For a short moment Riven blushed slightly and looked over to Diana, which tried her best not to look too embarrassed. She exactly knew 'what' Vi meant by this. Caitlyn looked puzzled for a moment, but she shrugged and grabbed her rifle. ‟Okay. Follow me then."

The police department was rather silent now. A few other officers were still there, while some stepped in, most likely for a night shift. They greeted Caitlyn and her followers shortly, before going to her tables or offices.

As they left the police department, it was already nearly dark. But, behind some windows of the skyscrapers light still burned. Even on the streets, people were still around. Most of them looked tired and exhausted from a long day of work, and were most likely on their way home.

Caitlyn led them to one of the waiting cars and they got in. ‟I'll bring you to one of the best hotels in Piltover..the owner owe me a few favors. It's good to be Sheriff", Caitlyn said with a grin and drove them through the street canyons of Piltover.

While she drove, Caitlyn pulled out a little card and handed it over to Riven. ‟Show the receptionist this one. She will give you a room for the night."

‟Eh..thank you. But, as I said there is no need for this", Riven replied. Caitlyn just waved and smiled. Riven looked over to Diana, which smiled for a moment, before she looked away again. Her face looked a bit red.

For the rest of their rather short ride, there was an awkward silence between Diana and Riven. Riven didn't know what to say in the first place and just thought about everything. Even though Vi's short goodbye was still in her head. 'Gosh...hopefully this will be forgotten by tomorrow', Riven thought annoyed and tried to focus on something else. Her mind drifted to the mercenaries and their ship.

'Zaun...', she thought. These were the people, which were responsible for the death of her unit in the first place. These were the one, which were the cause of the suffering from the Ionians. She clenched her fists. Even though Noxus High Command had his errors...Zaun was the place, which she hated far more than anything else.

She felt a hand on her clenched fist and looked over to Diana. She just looked at her with a more or less neutral face, but this short touch was enough for Riven to calm down a bit. Diana nodded at her, before she looked out of the window again.

They finally arrived at the hotel, a big and high building with dozens of floors. ‟Here we are...one of the best hotels. Have a good night you two", Caitlyn said to them.

‟You too Caitlyn", Riven and Diana said, before they left the car. As they closed the doors behind them, the Sheriff drove away. For a moment they just stood outside of the hotel and looked at it.

‟You know..it's...", Riven began, but her voice failed her.

‟Stupid Vi...", Diana replied. ‟So...how about it?" Her voice sounded a bit embarrassed.

Riven wasn't very sure what to say now. Her mind got empty and her heart started to beat faster. When she would say no, she would feel like a coward in the aftermath...besides how would Diana feel? She would understand most likely...nevertheless wouldn't she felt a bit disappointed? Beside Riven didn't want such an awkward silence between them, which would be in the air for the next couple of days. So..there was only one way.

She took a deep breath and gathered herself. ‟Alright. We do it", she plainly answered and blushed. ‟Let's get a room." Diana didn't answer and just followed Riven inside the hotel.

The inside of the hotel was pretty luxurious and looked like someone has combined the Piltovian style and Demacia into one thing. Directly in front of them a single woman sat behind a counter, right behind her were multiple elevators to the upper floors. They could hear in the distant the typical sounds of a dinner as well as laughing.

Riven stepped closer to the receptionist. ‟Eh..good evening", she said, and the woman looked up.

‟Good evening. Do you want a room?", she asked and smiled.

‟Yeah we want one. Eh...the Sheriff of Piltover brought us here...", Riven answered and handed over the card which Caitlyn gave her.

‟Ah, yes. The owner still owes her a favor. Guess this will be it then." She stood up and took a key from a giant wooden plate. Dozens of others hung there, everyone with a different number. ‟Here it is. Room number 32. It's on the third floor, the first door right."

‟Thank you", Riven said and took the key.

‟A good evening, I wish", the woman said before returning to her sitting position.

Diana and Riven walked over to the elevator and Riven pressed the button to the third floor. This was one of the only technology in which she trusted. No more exhausting stair climbing. She looked over to Diana, which seemed to be in her own thoughts. Riven licked her lips, and tried her best to stay calm.

As they got out on the third floor, they looked around. Red carpets were rolled out in the corridors, some electric light lit them. They heard the sound of a clock, as they searched for their room. There it was again. This awkward silence.

Finally Riven found the right door and opened it. As soon as she entered, she found something like a button right beside the door. She pushed it and the light turned on. Their room was split into three other smaller rooms. They looked around for a moment and opened the doors. A bathroom, a sleeping room with two beds, even though Riven knew they would only need one for this night, and the biggest room, a living room with two big couches and an armchair, a table and everything else needed for them.

‟You know...eh..I will have a shower before...", Diana said and her face was bright red. She bit her underlip and dropped her backpack.

‟Alright...I..eh..just wait here", Riven replied. She felt how she blushed again. Diana then disappeared into the bathroom.

Riven put down her own backpack and sighed. She dropped it near the couch and sat down on it. She drew her blade and laid it on the table, before leaning back and stretching her muscles a bit. Her mind was empty. It felt not like their meeting in the park on Ionia. No. This time it was somehow...different. This was something more than the confession.

She heard how Diana turned on the water and closed her eyes for a moment. She saw some..scenes before her inner eye and sighed quietly. Riven felt how some sort of arousal and heat grew inside of her as she thought about..well, doing it. 'Well, my body is ready for that', she thought and bit her underlip. She sat their for a moment, listening to the water and dwelt on to her nice thoughts, until she was interrupted by something.

Someone knocked at their door. ‟Huh?", Riven mumbled and stood up. Even though she didn't have a clear reason for it, she grabbed her blade and walked to the door. Her arousal, which would have taken over, slowly disappeared and was replaced with another form of excitement. Shortly she touched the runes on her blade, which glimmered in response.

As soon as she unlocked the door, it was punched open. Riven let out a scream of pain as the door hit her hard. ‟Fuck! DIANA! We got company!", she yelled. A punch into her abdomen, let her fly threw the whole room. Luckily she landed on one of the couches. She coughed.

The men which stormed their room, wore long mantles which hid most of their bodies. Their eyes were covered by some sort of dark glasses. Everyone of them was buff and big. It looked like they didn't wear any kind of weaponry. Riven readied her blade. ‟What the fuck? Who are you?", she yelled and jumped forward. She unloaded the energy of her blade all in once in a Ki Burst.

These men were tough. Even though she hit one of them, another one let her fly through the room again. This time she wasn't lucky and landed on the table. She took a few other objects with her. These people were obviously no normal thugs or soldiers.

Diana stormed out of the bathroom, and without asking she sent moonlight into one of the men, which stumbled backwards as the light pierced him.

‟Riven you're alright?", she yelled. She blocked another punch with her blade and sliced open the whole arm of the man, which screamed in pain. Blood splattered through the room and covered Diana. ‟Come on! Next one!", she yelled.

Another one stepped forward. Diana went back one one step, her blade glowed in moonlight. She readied herself for another attack, but this one came so fast and hard that she wasn't prepared. The man hit the side of her sword with the palm of his hand. The strength was enough to let her fly against the windows. They creaked and Diana coughed multiple times, before she lost consciousness.

Riven shook her head and stood up again. ‟Diana!" Riven yelled and looked back for a moment, before focusing on the men again. ‟That's enough!" Riven jumped forward again, and slashed the man wide open. The room was too small for her, to summon her whole blade. 'Shit..who are these guys?', Riven thought and readied herself for another attack.

But, before she could attack once more a bright flash and small explosion filled the room. ‟What the..", Riven yelled before she felt another hit against her neck.

The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was how one of them spoke: ‟We got her. We got the target person."


	12. ‟Curse me, hate me, hurt me, kill me!

**Author's Note**

Here we go! Plot twists and conclusions incoming! On a side note: I finally got a second LoL account and posted this story on the NA forums! Yay! But, now...have fun!

**Chapter 12**

‟**Curse me, hate me, hurt me, kill me!" **

Riven awoke with a loud scream. She breathed heavily. Terrible nightmares had hunted her during her blackout. She still saw a blood stained Diana lying on the ground and a Noxian crow which feasted on Diana's flesh. Riven herself was slowly taken away by some artificial beings resembling a combination of the Piltovian robots and Orianna. They tied her up before they started to torture her. The point at which she finally awoke.

Sweat ran down her face, while she tried to get a grip on the reality. She closed her eyes again and took a few deep breaths. Finally, she calmed down a bit. Her mind was a complete mess, and her head felt like a whole company marched over her.

She tried to realize where she was and blinked a few times. It stayed dark around her. ‟What the fuck?", she exclaimed. She tried to move her hands, but they were bound together with a strong iron chain. Riven looked around, but she didn't see anything only complete darkness. The panic about suffocating and being buried alive grew inside of her, as she tried to break free. As she tried to move around, she hit the walls of her small prison. It felt like a..coffin, which didn't help much to calm down.

She looked around her and as her eyes finally started to adjust to the low light conditions she spotted some small holes on the left and right side of her small prison. A bit of light came into the inside of the coffin. 'Okay..okay...at least I can't suffocate right now', she thought and took a few deep breaths.

Her hands still shook in fear and panic. ‟Calm down..calm down...fucking calm down already!", she exclaimed to herself. Riven tried to remember her training. 'Focus...focus...', she thought. She forced herself to push out any fear, and any other useless emotion and concentrated on the essential right now.

Slowly she organized her thoughts which stormed in her head. Then she started to remember, what happened back then. Some thugs or something like this, got into their hotel room, they had punched Diana and herself and had given them a hard time. The last thing she remembered was a bright flash and a hit which knocked her out.

'So, I'm captured?', Riven thought and moved around a bit. She felt movement under her, they were obviously moving. 'Well, who are my kidnapper anyway? And where they take me?', Riven asked herself. She moved her tied up hands and felt the material of the coffin. Massive wood, without any space to move unbreakable.

'Maybe I can get a glimpse...' Riven nearly cricked her neck, as she tried to spy out of one of the holes. What she saw let her sigh in frustration. They were obviously in some industrial area of some city state. She spotted some giant chimneys and industrial smog hung in the air. She heard mumbling in the distance and a loud voice which yelled something.

‟Mundo wants this little thing for researching!"

‟But, doctor..she was sentenced to death!", Riven heard another man saying.

‟Mundo don't care! Give her to me, or I cleave you to death!"

‟Alright..alright", the other man said. Riven heard the sound of a whimpering girl and laughing of Mundo.

'Fuck...', Riven thought as she realized WHERE she was. Zaun. She knew about Dr. Mundo the mad scientist. He was a champion of the League and fought for both Zaun and Noxus. She was in the middle of her most hated enemy, captured in a coffin. She felt like screaming. Every vein of her body, wanted to kill these mad scientists, which were the cause of thousands of deaths.

But, as fast as this feeling had come, it was gone again. Replaced by helplessness. This was the second time in her entire life, where she felt like this. The first time it occurred during the assault in Ionia. She couldn't escape, she couldn't do anything right now, she was imprisoned like a wild animal in some sort of zoo...and she didn't know what happened to Diana.

'I hope she's okay...', Riven thought. But, her mind already started to paint pictures of her death. She remembered her nightmares. She crunched her teeth as she felt how tears ran down her cheeks. This could have been a perfect night, even though a bit embarrassing at the start. But, now it had turned into a living nightmare. 'She made it...she made it..she made it...she's a tough girl', Riven continued to repeat her mantra and closed her eyes again.

Suddenly the movement stopped. She heard voices from the outside and felt how her coffin was picked up. She was instantly back at the little hole and spied outside. They passed some sort of warehouse, or at least it looked like this with crates and barrels standing around everywhere.

‟Get her to her prison cell for now. I will...soon take care of her", a metallic and unnatural voice said.

'At least the don't try to kill me...for now', Riven thought. She heard how the men who carried her coffin, grunted. The movement of her prison was..unstable, like they walked down a staircase or something like this. Then she heard the squealing sound of a bad oiled iron gate, before somebody opened her coffin.

The sudden bright light, let her close her eyes in reflex. She felt hands on her arms, before she flew through the air and hit the ground hard. She moaned in pain and blinked multiple times. ‟I take care of her", she heard one woman.

‟Alright. I leave her blade here then. If she does something stupid use this one here. The boss doesn't want her to get hurt", a man said before he went back upstairs.

As the pain fainted and Riven started to see again, she looked around. She was in some sort of old fashioned prison. She was surrounded by big, high stone walls. Light fell into her cell, through one little window, high above her. She heard the noise of some people, so she wasn't very deep under the earth, nor far away from places where people usually went. Thick iron bars and a gate, dampened her to flee. There was not much in her cell, only a little wooden cot and a shabby linen blanket as well as a little tray with something to eat and drink.

She stretched her arms and legs and cracked her neck. At least a bit movement, even though her state didn't turn any better. Riven walked over to the tray and looked at the food. Nothing special, but better than she would have expected. Even though her mind told her not to eat nor drink, her headache and grumbling stomach told her otherwise. 'Huh...if they wanted to kill...they could have done it before', she thought and took the tray.

As she was finished with her small meal, she stood up and walked to the iron bars. One woman sat directly in front of her cell. She was a rather tall woman, black hair surrounded her face, which was mostly hidden by shadows. Her body was covered with a long mantle. Beside her stood a giant axe. She looked up.

‟So..you're awaken?", she said. Her voice was rather quiet and calm. Somehow Riven felt, that this attitude of hers could swap at any given moment.

‟I am. And I want to know...what do you want from me?", Riven asked. She forced herself to stay calm and looked to her. She spotted some sort of little flask on the table, as well as her sword.

‟I can't tell you. My job is to watch over you..nothing more. Our boss will take care of you", the woman answered and stood up. She had a terrible scar over her face, it nearly looked like it was cut in half. She stretched her arms and legs a bit.

‟Who is your boss? And...aren't anybody of you afraid, that the League will...interfere?" Riven knew, that this argument was somehow weak, but she didn't have anything else right now.

‟You will see soon. Oh, and we don't fear the wrath of the League..these walls here, protect us from the searching magic of the Institute. From this moment on...the summoners don't know where you are. You just disappeared", the woman answered and sat down again as she was finished with stretching his muscles.

Riven turned around from the iron bars and sighed quietly in frustration. Now it was up to Diana and the others to get her out of here. When they were..no. 'Don't think about it...focus on the stuff here', Riven thought.

‟You can't remember me...can you? How could you, when I'm such a disgusting figure..", the woman suddenly said. Riven turned around and looked at her for a moment.

‟I met you before?", she asked and went back to the bars. The woman stood up again and came closer to the iron bars.

‟Yes, you did. My name is Scarlet...party captain of 42nd standard..you remember now?", she said, and looked down on Riven, which thought about it for a moment. She examined the woman and her face, before she finally remembered.

‟I remember...you were promoted to captain in the same time as me. Your unit was the one, I should join up with Fury Company...", Riven replied. She and Scarlet were never really...close to each other. They had respected each other, but their different opinions about Noxus politics prevented anything beyond that.

‟Huh..so you do remember...", the woman said and laughed quietly. ‟Well, that's some nice meeting again."

‟What happened to you? And explain to me, what the hell is going on here!", Riven exclaimed.

‟Huh..let me get straight to the point. You still remember the Ionian war?"

‟Of course. How could I forget these terrible things?"

‟Alright. You wanted to know what happened to me? My unit was killed by melters", Scarlet answered and looked at Riven. Her facial expression was cold. ‟But, unlike you I didn't run away."

‟I didn't run away! How can you still believe in High Command and their allies, when they killed your unit?"

‟Because I swore an oath and I am a soldier of Noxus. If I had deserted, I would have become a traitor. And..unlike you I didn't build up a personal connection to my soldiers. They were my...tools for the job. Weak servants, not strong enough, to be an officer. I survived the assault. I proved to be strong enough to reach higher positions", Scarlet said.

Riven crunched her teeth. She wanted to punch this little bitch as hard as she can, just to let out her anger. It was true. She had built up a connection to her fellow comrades, even though she still acted cold as ice. She would have risked her neck, to safe one of them. Something Noxian officers didn't do very often.

'But, nevertheless, she's right in this matter...the instructor told us...the soldiers under us, are our tools', Riven thought. ‟I could never do this. I trained with them, I grew up with some of them...how could I just sacrifice them?", Riven asked.

‟You see..that is and always was the difference between us. You would try to save weaklings...lower humans. Only the strong prevail. If some of my soldiers would have survived the attack, he would have been a stronger man. But, they didn't. So, it's not a great loss. One scientist once said: It's survival of the fittest", Scarlet answered.

Riven crunched her teeth again and tried to keep calm, even though every vein and muscle in her body screamed to punch this heartless bitch of a soldier. ‟That's not right. Using chemical weaponry, and wasting the own soldiers like this ...that's not the true Noxian way", Riven replied.

‟Let's see...you're a traitor and I am a Noxian veteran and officer. How could someone like you..decide what is the Noxian way? Do YOU really think, that you know about the true way? It's just your misguided morals and emotions", she said.

‟Tse..and I couldn't believe you would get along with this moon lady bitch..she didn't offer much of a fight. You really fell in love with such a weakling? Pitiful...I wonder if she survived", Scarlet continued and awaited Riven's reaction.

Riven clenched her fists. She felt how a burning hatred grew inside of her. ‟Never..speak again like this. Otherwise...", Riven snarled.

‟You want to fight me again? Ha. I wasn't even there to capture you...the others told me you were not much of a problem either. I can't imagine why the boss has such a great interest in you", Scarlet said and laughed. ‟It looks like the League is a bunch of weaklings after all. I can't believe Noxus didn't start to invade all other countries."

‟The League is far more powerful than you think..", Riven replied. ‟But, you aren't normal soldiers are you? A normal human couldn't kick me and Diana through a whole room." She tried to control the anger and hatred and keep on focusing on important stuff, but it was a rather useless attempt as she felt how her hands were shaking.

‟Ha..now you're getting curious, huh?", Scarlet asked. ‟But, I'll show you...the next step of evolution."

Scarlet slowly dropped her long mantle on the ground, like she wanted to present herself as good as she could. She wore a silver shimmering piece of tight plate armor, a rather unusual color in Noxus armies, as they mostly preferred green and red. But, that was not all. At some spots, Riven spotted some hextech devises, like on her arms and legs.

She remembered what Caitlyn said, about the stolen technology. ‟This is the..enhancement technology, right? So, it is true then...Zaun stole it from Piltover..and you are the ones who are using it...", she concluded.

‟You're a clever one, huh? Yes. Our boss used some mercenaries to steal this technology from Jayce, and used it on us. Noxian veteran soldiers. We were sent here by Swain himself. He has a great interest in this kind of technology. We are here to test it..", Scarlet smiled, ‟and it worked out pretty well. With this...Noxus will be the strongest faction of the entire continent! We will rule over this land and finally show these weak Demacians true strength!"

‟You don't understand the difference between pure power and true strength. That is what most Noxians have forgotten. All what counts nowadays is power and victories. ‟Forever strong" tse... ", Riven replied.

‟This here is only an improvement of my own strength. Like a medal for my deeds for the military. You don't understand anything at all, Riven", Scarlet said.

‟Or I understand more than you..."

‟You damn little..."

‟ENOUGH! Shut up! Both of you!" They heard footsteps which slowly came down the staircase. Another man stepped into Riven's sight. He wore the same kind of armor as Scarlet, but even without it he would be a bear of a man. ‟The master wants to see her! Get her out...and you", he pointed in Riven's direction, ‟if you try to flee I have the permission to break your legs."

Scarlet opened the door to her cell and grabbed her by her shoulders. Even though her grip was pretty harsh, Riven didn't show any sign of weakness or pain, for that she was too proud. The man grabbed her sword and they slowly left the cell blocks, back upstairs.

They walked through long corridors, and Riven got a glimpse into a few chambers. Most of them were some kind of labors, or medical departments. Or at least it looked liked this. The stench of different chemicals, and herbs hung in the air. Riven spotted other researchers and scientists, writing things down or making some experiments with strange tools of science . And nearly everywhere were these...soldiers. On their way Riven counted at least a dozen of them.

‟Here we are", the man said and opened another door to a medium sized room. In the middle stood some sort of table. Riven remembered them very well. They were used for operations and other...rather brutal 'medicine'. There was a desk, with reports and other medical tools like syringes and so on. Riven didn't feel very well, in this kind of rooms. ‟Put her on the table and fetter her."

Scarlet pushed her to the table, and with no other choice right now Riven laid down and let herself captivate. She couldn't move even a bit anymore. She swallowed for a moment as she felt something like...fear grew inside of her. 'This isn't good', she thought.

‟The boss will come any moment...Scarlet you wait here." The man left the room. Scarlet nodded and sat down on a chair, while she watched Riven. They both stayed silent for a moment.

Thoughts rushed through Riven's mind, as she thought about an escape plan. Without her weapon, this would be a useless attempt. Beside that these rather small corridors weren't her kind of environment for fighting and the plain fact that these...enhanced soldiers are a dangerous threat. Even though she was sure, she could handle some of them with the proper preparation...the problem stayed, that her weapon wasn't in reach.

Before she could continue to dwell on her thoughts the door was opened again and a person got into the room. Scarlet stood up and saluted before her. ‟Master...she's here and everything is ready", Scarlet said.

‟Good...very good", the person said with an unnatural voice and turned around to Riven. The person wore a long mantle, which hid most of the body and a metallic mask with a hood hid her face and hair.

‟Who are you? What do you want?", Riven asked. She forced herself yet again to stay calm and speak slowly and clearly.

‟How rude of me. I didn't even introduce myself properly...", the person said. The person took down the mask and threw back the hood.

‟You...but, how? Why?", Riven asked, her voice was shocked. The person had long blonde hair, and clear green eyes. She smiled at Riven. ‟Elena...what the...fuck?" It took her a moment to realize, which person she saw.

Elena didn't answer and instead came closer to the table. She stroke a strand of blond hair out of her face and then suddenly kissed Riven on the mouth. Riven herself pressed her lips together and avoided too much contact with Elena's lips and playful tongue. She tried to move away her head, looked to the left and right, but it was a rather useless attempt, as she couldn't move much anyway.

Scarlet looked away, her face showing something like a disgusted expression.

‟Hm..still sweet like a raspberry, Riven", Elena said and grinned. ‟Even though the first one was better..must be Diana huh? Well, that's a pity..."

‟Instead of doing stuff like this, you should explain things to me!", Riven exclaimed. She felt anger because of the forced kiss. But she tried her best, to stay as calm as she could. ‟What the hell is going on here? You were the one behind the thievery of the enhancement technology? You were the mastermind behind everything?" She trusted this person and to see her working in a Zaunite labor...she felt betrayed.

‟Well..from the beginning, Riven", Elena said and picked up a syringe. ‟I will take some blood from you...alright, let me start then."

Riven felt how the syringe penetrated her arm. She tried to relax. ‟From the start..you know..I was born in Zaun, with the gift of magic flowing through my veins. I was trained here, I lived here. And when I was sixteen years old, I started to work in one of Zaun's labors...as an assistant of Singed. You know him, right?"

‟How couldn't I? This bastard launched chemical attacks all over Ionia during the war", Riven replied, while Elena put away the syringe, filled with her blood.

‟Singed and I created this weaponry. When the war came, Noxus asked Zaun for help during their invasion. What could be better than a battlefield, to test out the newest inventions and weapons? So, Zaun gladly accepted this offer.

But, that's not all. During my time in Ionia, I started to think about improvements for the human bodies. I saw soldiers who would be crippled for their entire lives, I saw weakness. And I started to think about, how I could...crush these weakness. How could I start a new evolution?"

‟And?", Riven asked. She felt Elena's hands, which wandered over her body and breasts. Riven growled shortly. ‟Take your hands away. Stop touching me."

‟You would enjoy this far more, when this moon lady wouldn't be there", Elena sighed, but then continued: ‟Well, let just say at this point I didn't have any good idea. Instead I was still focusing on the chemical weaponry. I asked High Command and Singed for the permission, for an experiment for my new mixture."

‟No...that can't be...", Riven slowly said as she started to realize.

‟It's true. Your unit and Scarlet's unit...were killed by my mixture. I was the one who created the chemical weapons. Singed was the one who released it on your unit...but, it was me who created it", Elena replied.

‟You god damn bitch! I should kill you right now!", Riven yelled and tried to break free from her bonds. ‟I should burn down your whole fucking city!" Riven couldn't catch a clear thought anymore. All she felt was hatred. A pure, fiery hatred. Even a creature from the Shadow Isles would cover, when it felt her rage.

Elena didn't pay much attention to Riven's outburst and plainly said: ‟You can curse me, you can hate me..huh, if you could you could even kill me. But, right now you aren't in the right spot. You're just a prisoner...MY prisoner." She smiled at Riven before she continued: ‟The experiment was a great success! Everyone died...only two people survived, one disappeared and one came back even though Scarlet was pretty burned from the acid air. That surprised me and I started to do research from Scarlet's blood and body. You were both...atypical."

‟And..?", Riven asked with crunched teeth. She still fought with her bonds, but Scarlet did her job pretty well.

‟You know, it's a pain in the ass to research stuff, which were never done before. But, after years I could create the first improved soldier with the help of Scarlet's blood and special mixtures. But, it wasn't a great success. He died from side effects of the mixtures. At this point Zaun cut off my money, and I needed to stop my research. Well, as an exchange, they offered me a place in the League as a summoner."

‟And they didn't mind your past? Just saying...", Riven said.

‟Tse...it's rather easy to manipulate certain persons within the League. Even though the summoners try to make anyone believe that there are an all mighty faction, they aren't. They are just normal humans, like everyone else. With a bit of...seduction, promises, my magic, and the help from some Zaun summoners, entering the League was a piece of cake.

Since then, I was only a summoner among summoners...until the day when you joined the League. I instantly remembered you and insisted to be there, when you enter the Halls of Reflection. After I saw your past, I was sure: You were the other surviving officer. I started my research again, and became your summoner", Elena explained to her.

‟And then? How could you hide your traces so well?", Riven asked, between crunched teeth. She felt how the leather of the bonds pressed against her skin, leaving red marks as she still fought them.

‟We're allowed to leave the Institute at certain times. Besides...I'm not a novice summoner like the rest of them. Zaun's best magicians trained me! I've made them believe I was elsewhere...and some of the official summoners of Zaun, helped me doing it. You know it best, Riven...neither Noxus nor Zaun accept the League. Right now, both factions haven't the power to stand against it, but the time will come."

‟And the rest? You hired the mercenaries to steal the technology from Jayce...how did you know about it anyway?" While she spoke, Elena looked into the blood which she had filled into a little flask.

‟I knew about it, because I looked into his head during one match. You can block out summoners from your secret thoughts, but Jayce..huh..he's a scientist and a womanizer. It was...easy for me to attract his attention. So why would he block me out?", Elena grinned and shook the blood a bit.

‟After that I hired mercenaries for two things. The first was to steal the technology, the second...the incident on your ferry. Luckily, at this point Zaun started to pay me again in secret, as the High Command of Noxus and Zaunites scientists showed great interest in this enhancement technology. "

‟So, it's true that they were mercenaries. For what?"

‟They placed a sensor within your backpack. So my improved soldiers could easily track you down. After your arriving in Piltover, we captured you in the hotel. Any means of transportation was booked out by me, so you couldn't leave the city. Everything was set up", Elena explained.

‟And why the whole sword summoning process? Why do you need me anyway?", Riven asked and crunched her teeth. That was an flood of information for her. She tried to memorize everything, what she heard now. It would be helpful, when she got back to the League. If she got back to it.

‟I needed you at full strength. So, I started working on it. The Ionian thing blew up the original plan, but that was just a side effect. Luckily you were able to summon it on the ferry. Why, I need you? I started to believe your blood is somehow stronger than Scarlet's. You have a greater resistance than her...of course I needed you for tests then."

‟Do you really think that? I was burned too, I got ill for a few days too", Riven replied.

‟Scarlet needed to lay in one of the military hospitals for weeks", Elena answered plainly.

'Well, that's surprising', Riven thought, and looked over to Scarlet, which just glared back. Hatred burned in her eyes. ‟And..what about the love thing?"

‟Oh, and the love thing. Well, can't explain it. One part was played, the other one was real love. Yes, it's true. I somehow fell in love with you. But, it would be better for me, when this moon bitch didn't interfere, with her feelings. But, well...right now it doesn't matter", Elena said and laughed quietly.

‟Get her back to the cell, Scarlet. We're ready for today. Tomorrow she will be fighting", Elena said and Scarlet stepped closer. Riven didn't show any resistance. Before they left, Elena gave her another kiss on the cheek, then Scarlet escorted her back to the cell.

While on their way Riven, thought about what she heard. Elena wasn't only a traitor to the League, but also a dangerous enemy to the unstable peace of Valoran. 'But, like Vi said...Noxus and Zaun will cut off any binding with her, if this information get public. Besides...the League wouldn't stand in a good light, when everyone knows, that there was a traitor summoner within their rows...shit.'

Scarlet threw her into her cell and slammed the iron gate behind her. Riven felt like she was angry about something. ‟Elena is mine. If you try anything stupid with her, I will kill you right where you stand...have I made myself clear enough?", Scarlet growled.

‟I don't want anything from here. So, I don't care about it", Riven replied, while she rubbed her back. ‟No emotions..my ass." Riven bit on her tongue. She should watch it, at least for now. Even though she felt more hatred and rage than ever before.

‟Shut up you piece of shit! Elena made me stronger and patched me up after I survived the incident. If she would be a Noxian..she would sit on a throne as a Noxian king. No High Command, no emissaries, no weak aristocrats. A king Noxian citizen could believe in. To be honest...you're right in one point. Noxus High Command is weak and corrupt. They bow before the lower humans of the League! But, not for long anymore..", Scarlet snarled at her, before she turned around and left the cells.

Riven was finally alone. She took a few deep breaths and looked up to the window. She saw a part of the moon and the stars. Riven felt how her hatred and anger was replaced by sadness and the feeling of being helpless. Captured like an animal in a cage, sentenced to death when she loses her use, what could be any moment when Elena got behind the secrets of her blood.

She fell on her knees and started to sob quietly. She had failed everyone...again. She wasn't able to rebuild Noxus, she wasn't able to avenge her fallen comrades...nor was she able to...protect Diana and be with here. ‟Again...and again...", she said quietly said and looked over her shoulder. Her sword was still lying on the table, so close, but out of reach.

These were the times, when she asked herself, why she didn't die back then. She remembered Diana's speech about destiny. She remembered the words of the summoner. 'Never lose hope...easier to say, than to do it', she thought and clenched her fists.

‟They will not break me..I will not die. Not here! Not like a prisoner!", she exclaimed. Riven looked up to the moon, her voice softened as she spoke: ‟Diana...I believe in you...you are my last hope...this time..I cannot save myself...I cannot break free..."

Riven laid down on the wooden cot and grabbed the blanket of linen. Suddenly she remembered the fairy tale. She grinned sarcastically for a short moment. ‟Huh..I'm not the knight...I am the damsel in distress..." As the time slowly passed, the merciful sleep finally overcame her.


	13. Blood and Steel

**Author's Note**

Finally, I'm finished! This chapter took me longer. I rewrote the whole beginning at least three times, before I finally found a good start. Here we go! Oh, one thing: If you like, you can give my thread in the official forums a bump. You can leave comments, reviews and so on there, too! I appreciated it!

**Chapter 13**

**Blood and Steel**

_She looked around her. She saw absolutely nothing. Only darkness. She felt like she float between worlds. Somehow it reminded her of the summoning process to the Fields of Justice. 'Am I summoned?', she asked herself. But, who summoned her? _

_Suddenly she felt the earth under her feet and looked around. She stood on the summoning platform in Summoner's Rift, but the whole platform was surrounded by strong iron bars, which prevented her from leaving. 'What the hell?', she thought and looked around. Then she saw it. Her nexus was already destroyed, the towers burned down. Minions stood around mindlessly, as they didn't have anything to do anymore. _

_She tried to break free. She used all of her powers, all of her abilities, but nothing happened. She was caged in like an animal. Slowly other persons walked to her prison. All of them stayed shaded, and unreal. But, she remembered their voices as they spoke. _

‟_Again, P.C.? Well, that's a pity", someone said. It sounded like Krim. _

‟_Yeah, Krim...that's right...what a pity", Dassel said._

‟_Caged in, with no power anymore...and this pitiful thing wanted to revenge us?", another one_

_said, it reminded her of Sal. _

‟_I thought, we could trust in you...", someone said, who reminded her of Ardus. _

_Riven watched the shadows. Their voices sounded disappointed, and disgusted. One of them was big, and buff. A giant two handed axe stood beside him. Brite. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her, what made it even worse. _

‟_I'm sorry!", Riven exclaimed. _

‟_Ahaha. This proves it once, and for all! You're a weakling! Your Noxian way is full of errors and mistakes, and you're nothing more than a pitiful excuse for an officer." Scarlet's mocking voice echoed in her head. _

‟_Riven...I am sorry..." A faint voice said. Riven nearly didn't hear it, as the laughter of Scarlet overshadowed it. _

‟_Diana?", Riven tried to say, but her voice failed. It felt like somebody was choking her. ‟I'm sorry..it was my fault...not yours!" She tried to break free from the invisible powers which choke her. She tried to reach Diana, Ardus, anyone. But, she was too weak. She couldn't breath anymore. Her sight started to become blurred. She panicked and slowly suffocated._

* * *

Riven awoke, and tried not to scream. Sweat ran down her face and she breathed heavily. 'Another nightmare?", she thought while she tried to collect herself and get a grip to reality. Her hands shook in panic. Riven swallowed hard, and forced herself to breath calmly. 'Fuck...am I going crazy? Well, it could be this situation..okay...calm down...slowly..'

She heard the sound of an opening cell door, and cringed. Slowly she turned around her head, only to see one of the elite soldiers who put down a tray, near the entrance. He was a rather big man, in his thirties. He had black hair, like many other Noxians and a scar near his right eye. His brown eyes looked over to her.

‟You're awake, huh?" His voice sounded calm. But, unlike Scarlet's, this man was really calm. Or at least Riven believed so.

‟Yeah...pretty much", she answered and pushed away the linen cloth. She rubbed her head and cracked her neck as she slowly got up.

‟Not comfortable?", the man said and sat down on the exact same chair, on which Scarlet sat. He leaned back and watched her. Beside him stood a giant sword, nearly as big as Riven's full summoned one.

‟How could it? Even a Noxian camp bed is better than this thing here. Why do you even bother?", she asked and picked up the tray with food and something to drink. She got back to her cot, sat down and started to eat. Even though she didn't feel very hungry at all. But, Elena said something about fighting so she would need the energy.

‟Just interested. My name is Brian Fawkes", he said, and watched her as she ate.

Riven didn't reply, instead she focused on her food. Even though, she had dozens of questions in her head, she decided not to talk too much with these...soldiers.

‟You're not a talkative person, are you?", Brian said and sighed silently.

‟Why should I? You people captured me, and imprisoned me. Why should I talk to you?", Riven replied and looked to the man, with a suspicious facial expression.

‟Guarding prisoners is a boring task. I need a bit of distraction, so I talk to prisoners. Besides..", Brian smiled shortly, ‟I overheard your little discussion with Scarlet yesterday. You have an interesting view on the world."

‟You did?", Riven asked, surprised and put the tray to her side. She stood up and walked to the iron gate. She watched the sitting man, which stretched his arms a bit. Riven heard the faint sound of the working technology within his armor.

‟I have pretty good ears. So...tell me what do you think", he leaned forward and smiled. Riven sighed and thought about it for a moment.

'Didn't have anything to do either..besides..I don't have to hide this anyway', she thought. ‟I hate Zaun, their chemical weaponry, their view of the world...everything about them...and I think most Noxians don't know what true strength mean anymore. All that matters nowadays is might and victories, and High Command is corrupted, and make propaganda for this. They don't care about honor, or the true Noxian way anymore."

‟You deserted because your unit was killed, right? And you believe High Command is corrupted?"

‟I did. My unit was killed by chemical weapons from Zaun, after I requested backup. I didn't trust in High Command anymore. I wanted to start anew, even though I never stopped loving Noxus...it's my home after all", Riven answered and sighed.

‟So...you want to open the eyes of Noxians? And how do you want to do it? ", Brian asked. He grabbed a little bottle from his belt and drank out of it, before he focused on Riven again.

‟I'll show the world a true Noxian fighter on the Fields of Justice...I will show them the meaning of honor and strength. I'll show them the true way of Noxus!", Riven said. ‟I...I promised it."

‟To who? Your dead comrades?", Brian asked.

‟Yes...I visited their graves in Ionia. I had faced my past back then...and I promised not to forget nor to give up. And nobody of your kind, will break my will again. I have found my spirit and new strength. I guess Elena's plan didn't turn out the way she wanted", Riven answered.

‟Really? I heard how you said 'Diana, Diana', during your dreams, shortly before I brought you your breakfast. It sounded...afraid?"

Riven swallowed hard. ‟A nightmare. Nothing more", she replied plainly, and clenched her fists.

‟She is...someone special isn't she?", Brian asked surprisingly understanding.

‟Tse...I'm not good at hiding things...I love her...", Riven replied. She did her best not to cry, not before this soldier. ‟I saw how she suffered during my nightmares...I saw how she died...judge me if you want, for falling in love with another woman. I don't care about it. Without her, I would be nothing today...all I want is..to get hold by her..once more..."

She closed her eyes and crunched her teeth. She turned around for a moment, away from the man and wiped away a few tears. 'Don't cry...not now...come on..', she forced herself. She swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths. As she regain her composure, she turned around again. She looked up.

‟But, why do you even ask? Do you know this feeling anyway?"

‟You told me about yourself...now it's my turn. I know this feeling, and I guess even better than you. I have two daughters. Twins to be exact. Their mother died, while she gave birth to them...and I haven't seen them both for years now. I gave them to an Piltovan orphanage...", Brian said, his voice turned bitter.

‟I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...", Riven replied and looked down. Brian just waved at her.

‟It's alright. I'm...over it. Even though, I did it, to hide them from the Noxian corruption in the higher ranks."

Riven looked up again, and watched the man carefully. Did he really just say 'corruption'? Was he on her side? ‟What do you mean?"

‟Let me explain. I don't do this whole stuff here, because I search for power or something like this. I do it because I must. It's an order from above. Right now...I don't have a choice. I''m already suspected of working with the enemy, when I took a vacation and went to Piltover."

‟Get to the point", Riven said and frowned.

‟I am on your side, Riven. I was one of the agents send to Ionia..I heard your speech in Serene Gardens. And you convinced me completely. It was the final push, someone needed to give me."

Riven looked Brian into the eyes. She tried to read his body language, in his gestures, and his voice. He looked calm and it seemed that he was serious about it. ‟How can I trust you?", she asked. During her long years as a wanderer, she learned that a minimum of mistrust against...certain persons helped.

‟You can only rely on my words. Elena is fanatical in her research for the super soldiers...besides this isn't only about the creation of soldiers. She wants to destroy the weakness in this world at all costs. A new evolution...of mankind. And her new created soldiers, shall be this new..generation. With one main difference...they all obey her orders. Not High Command anymore."

‟This fits somehow, what Scarlet told me...she said something like 'Elena could be a Noxian king', and so so on", Riven replied.

‟I guess, Elena already twisted her mind. She is mad, and need to be stopped. We can help each other out...I only want to go to Piltover and live a life there with my daughters..nothing more. I need to hide my traces, before the Noxian assassins...you could help me with that." Brian stood up and walked to the iron bars. He held out a hand between the bars. ‟Do we have a deal?"

For a moment Riven thought about it. She didn't believe that one of these soldiers is on her side. Even though she heard a voice in the back of her head, which told her not to trust Brian too much. 'Anyway...right now it seems like he is on my side. Could help me..', she thought and shook her head. 'Now, I sound like Scarlet...using the pawns...I'm not better than her then..'

‟We have a deal, and I trust you", Riven said and gave him her hand.

‟You made the right decision. Okay, listen up. Right now there are too many guards up there. At least..thirty to forty man guarding the whole facility during daytime. I have my free time in...about two hours. I will talk to you again, during the night shift. Until then...do as you're told, and don't tell anyone", he grinned at her and winked.

‟Huh...alright. I'll see you tonight", Riven replied and Brian nodded.

‟Yeah. Until then..good luck for today", Brian said. He grabbed his sword, and went upstairs again.

Riven watched him, as he left before and stretched her muscles a bit. 'Well, with nothing better to do..a little warm up, could help to prepare for the fighting", she thought and started with some simple practice, reaching from simple stretching exercises to pushups. It was a more or less brainless task, but it helped her to collect her mind and think about things.

This twist of events was surprising. So she wasn't alone, with her opinion which was by itself a great success. 'So, there are Noxians who don't trust High Command anymore...that's a good start for me', she thought, while she did some pushups.

Her thoughts drifted to the High Command. The current leader of them, was Jericho Swain. She knew about him, even though his rise to power, was long after her self exile. Many newspapers and television shows reported about it. What she knew about him, wasn't much. He wasn't part of the Ionian war, so she never had direct contact with him. Not even in the League, although he was a champion too. 'Huh..not surprising...every Noxian champion in the League..avoids me', she thought sarcastically.

Anyway...what did she know about him? 'Huh..he is a master tactician. And he is obviously interested in the creation of super soldiers..', she thought, 'And, most Noxians follow him and High Command..well, why shouldn't they? It's the way of Noxus...I can't blame them for this. Anyway..I need to confront him within the League..as he played a part in breaking the rules of the it...'

For a short moment, Riven wondered how many summoners played a part in this, and how many of them are corrupt. She always thought that the Institute was an honorable organization, which stabilized Valoran to prevent another rune war. But, what she heard and learned so far, let her start to believe that the League was just another place for political intrigues. Another corrupted organization just like High Command.

'This world is...so corrupted. And right now, there's nothing I can do about it..but, even though they need to be punished for this...I hope that there will be no second Kalamanda...or even worse a second Ionia. We don't need another war... ', she thought and sighed, while she ended her training exercises. She didn't even sweat a bit, but at least her muscles were warmed up for the upcoming challenges.

She walked back to the cot and sat down. As she didn't have anything to do, she tried to remember everything from yesterday. She was somehow glad, that even though she was filled with hatred and rage, she still could recall everything in the correct order.

Slowly the time passed. Riven only realized it because of the wandering sun on the outside, and because she heard some noise and voices from upstairs and the outside. She wondered if they had forgotten her.

Then suddenly she heard the sound of armored boots, which came down the staircase. Riven stood up and went to the iron gate. She looked outside, and waited. Scarlet stepped into sight and looked down at her. Her face showed her disgust towards Riven. Riven herself tried to stay calm with an emotionless expression on her face.

‟So...what is it?", she asked.

‟It's time for you, to show your fighting skills. Elena will explain everything to you. Come with me, and don't do anything stupid", Scarlet said with a cold voice, while she opened the gate.

‟Did I ever do something like this?", Riven replied and put her hands behind her neck and walked outside. She instantly felt Scarlet's armored hands on her shoulders, which pushed her upstairs through the building again.

This time, they walked different corridors. It looked more like a barrack or other military building. Riven spotted some training rooms, weapon and armor racks, and many other soldiers all dressed in the same enhanced armor. 'So, Brian was right about that', she thought.

They stopped before giant, thick metal door, which was opened by two soldiers. Riven was pushed in. ‟Stay there", Scarlet said and the doors closed again.

Riven looked around. This area reminded her of the old arena in Noxus, where ‟The Fleshing" took place. A big round room, filled with nothing more than dirt. It was mainly lit by magical lights, even though through some windows sunlight flooded the arena. Above the main arena, Riven spotted many seats, but most of them were empty. She only spotted some other soldiers, which looked over her. For a moment she saw something like a white wall, before the soldiers. It reminded her of the 'Barrier' spell on the Fields of Justice. 'So..they are protected...', she thought.

Riven spotted Elena at some sort of higher platform. She looked down at her and smiled. ‟Hello, Riven. There you are."

‟What's this now? What do you want?", Riven asked annoyed. She wasn't in the mood playing games.

‟Huh..why so serious? It's all about a little fun right now. I just want to see you, at your full strength. For testing...I want to see how strong you really are. Maybe, I let you live then", Elena said. She drew something from behind her back, and threw it into the arena, directly before Riven. It was her sword.

Riven grabbed it, and instantly felt the runic energy which filled and empowered her body. The runes glimmered strong. She looked around for a moment, and thought about breaking out.

‟Nah..don't even think about it, Riven. I am a summoner after all...it's easy for me to shut you down, if you try to flee. Besides, everything in this arena is protected by magical shields. Alright, then. Let the fighting begin!"

Another door was opened at the other side of the arena, and a single man stepped in. He wore a giant axe which looked more advanced than any other close combat weapon Riven had ever seen. His plate armor, was in the same style. Advanced, flawless and shimmering. Riven spotted some sort of hoses around his body, filled with a green liquid. Apparently they were connected directly with his body. Riven swallowed.

‟He's my first prototype! He was created with the help of yours and Scarlet's blood. A superior being, complete without the help of the pitiful Piltovian technology. I call this...a bioforge soldier", Elena explained. Her voice sounded like a excited young girl.

‟Let me show you...the next step of evolution!", the man yelled, and grinned. Without any other warning, he charged forward.

Riven readied her weapon. 'Let's see how strong he really is', she thought. The man attacked from above. Riven raised her sword to parry the attack.

Riven went down on her knees, for a moment it felt like the she would sink into the earth. She had never felt such a power. It felt like she was trying to stop a Piltovian train. She crunched her teeth, and tried to break free.

‟Pathetic...", the man grunted, and withdrew his axe. Before Riven could react a kick against her stomach send her flying through the arena. She nearly vomited her breakfast, as she hit the ground again. She coughed multiple times, and slowly stood up.

'Focus again...come on..' The man already started to attack again, this time Riven didn't even try to parry and instead rolled to the side, to avoid his deadly attacks. Riven quickly realized that, even though the man was strong like a bull and hit like a train, he was slower than her. She could avoid his attacks, if she kept up the pace.

‟Is running everything you can do?", the man yelled at her and swung his mighty axe against her. She rolled to his right side, and got on her knees in a fluid movement.

‟Not at all!", she yelled and gathered runic energy at the blade. She hit him against his thigh, with all of her strength and energy. Before she could see, if she did any damage, she felt another kick against her belly. She hit one of the walls of the arena and coughed. She felt a pain in her back, like some bones were broken. She tried to raise one of her arms, but it didn't move anymore. Her eyes wandered to his thigh. His armor there was pretty damaged, she even saw some blood.

‟Hey, Riven. How about your little sword trick? Oh, and let me give you a hand. It would be unfair, if a weaker human is crushed like this." She heard Elena's voice and suddenly she felt the good feeling of a healing spell which was cast on her. Her bones were back in place, and she could use her arms again. Slowly she stood up and readied herself.

'No other choice here...', she thought. 'If I don't do it...I will probably die here.'

‟Ha. I give you your time. Maybe then your a challenge", the man said and readied his weapon for another attack.

‟Alright", Riven said plainly, and closed her eyes. She started to focus on the runic energy. She tried her best to push away her fear. Yes, she could summon the blade. But the last few times, it only stayed for about a minute or even less. It was like the blade felt her fear, so she couldn't catch the energy. Like an eel, it slipped through her fingers. She swallowed hard and focused again. 'Leave doubt behind...', she thought. 'No more hesitation...'

Riven took a few deep breaths. 'I can't die here...' She pushed out the fear of failing and dying. She pushed out any unnecessary thoughts and emotions. Finally, she felt how her heartbeat got slower, and how an inner peace filled her. Riven felt the magical energy. She knew this was somehow strange, but it felt like her sword told her that it was ready. 'Mind and body are one...they will not break me...not again', she thought and mumbled, ‟Blade of the Exile..."

She heard a murmur, which went through the soldiers. She opened her eyes again and hold her fully restored blade in her hand. It was the first time, where she would use it during a real battle. Excitement filled her. ‟Come at me now", she said, her voice echoed slightly through the magical power which flow through her veins.

‟Ha! Finally a challenge!" The man charged at her, his axe raised high, like he wanted to cut her into two pieces with one attack.

Riven just stood there and readied herself. 'I'll end this in quickly...', she thought. His axe went down and she parried it, but this time she wasn't send flying nor did she go to ground. This time she stood and looked at him. ‟Is that all?", she said. She released runic energy in a Ki Burst. The man stumbled backwards. Then, Riven jumped at him and cut his axe into two separate pieces.

‟Shit!", he mumbled and looked at her, unarmed. Riven saw fear in his eyes.

‟You cannot go...unpunished", Riven said. She released the runic energy all at once in a wind slash. The wave of energy hit the soldier in his stomach and send him flying against the wall of the arena. He made a loud noise as he hit it, and a cloud of dust and dirt, covered him. She still held her blade in one hand, even though she was sure, that this one wouldn't stand up anymore.

As the cloud slowly lifted, the man still lay against the wall. He didn't move anymore. His armor was shattered. The green liquid dripped on the ground. Riven slowly went closer and looked down at him. Even though he was badly injured, he lived. He coughed blood and looked up to her.

‟Think about your past and deeds. Maybe you find your errors", Riven said and turned around. ‟Is that enough, Elena?", she yelled. She swung her blade one more time, and then it was gone. Back to its normal, broken state.

‟Perfect, Riven. That was an impressive show! Now lay down your blade. Hands above your head...you will be escorted back to your cell", Elena replied.

Riven sighed and dropped her blade, even though it felt horribly wrong. 'Think of Brian...do what they say...', she reminded herself and put her hands, at the back of her head. The doors were opened and soldiers stormed the room. Two of them, grabbed her, while others picked up her injured opponent, and brought him away. Another one picked up her sword.

‟Have a good afternoon and night, Riven. We will speak again tomorrow." Elena blew her a kiss, before she walked away. Scarlet shortly looked down at Riven, her face showed nothing more than pure hatred. She turned around and followed her 'master'.

Riven just sighed, and walked away with the soldiers.

Luckily, this time she wasn't thrown into her cell, like the last times. Riven walked in, and heard the sound of the closing gates behind her. ‟If you wish something, ring this bell", a soldier said behind her.

‟Something to drink, would be nice", Riven replied.

‟Alright. You'll get something." The soldiers left the cell block again, and Riven sat down on the cot.

She leaned against the cold stone wall, and looked up to the little window. After a moment, she heard how someone opened the gates again. She looked in the direction and saw how someone put a glass and a bottle in her cell. ‟Thanks", Riven mumbled, and drank a bit out of the bottle. She walked back to the cot, and sat down again. She thought about the summoning.

It went better than the last times, where she tried it. She summoned it relatively fast, controlled the energy and power which flow through her veins, and she even could parry such a strong attack. She sighed. 'But, well...it doesn't help me right now, does it?', she thought. For a short moment, she thought that she wasn't any better than Scarlet, by relying onto to one item.

She shook her head. No. Even though her sword held much of her power, she was the one who wielded it and needed to learn anything about it. Scarlet instead just improved her strength by using technology. She didn't need to learn nor train. All she needed was putting on that shining armor. There was a difference between them.

Anyway...sitting around in a cell, with nothing to do was rather...boring. For the first time in her life, she felt boredom. Here was nothing to do, no place to move, nothing. She only could dwell on to her thoughts, but nothing more.

She laid on her back and looked outside of the little window. She heard the noise of some people and sighed, as the time slowly passed. 'Well, can make a nap right now...so I am awake during the night', she thought and closed her eyes. She fell asleep relatively quickly.

**A couple of hours later...**

Riven opened her eyes again, only to realize it was utterly dark now. Not even a torch burnt outside of her cell. She blinked multiple times, so that her eyes would adjust to the darkness. She saw the moon, before the window in her cell. 'How late is it?', she thought and stood up again. It was rather cold, and a shiver ran down her spine. Luckily, there weren't any nightmares during her nap. Most likely because she got new hope during the daytime.

Now, the only thing to do, was waiting for Brian. 'Hopefully he fulfills his promise', she thought. Just as she finished the thought, she heard footsteps on the staircase. She looked in the direction of the iron bars. She felt excited and the hope of coming out of this cage. Riven saw how a torch lit up the corridor and the cell blocks, before someone stepped into her sight. The one person, which she would never have awaited in this place.

‟Sorry, to let you wait. Finding your whereabouts took us longer, than we expected." The person who opened the gates, was none other than Diana. She held a torch in one of her hands, in the other the keys, with which she opened the gates. She wore a rather strange outfit. Leather boots and a rather short and tight pants. And a rather short top, which left her cropped. Her long silver hair was knotted into two long pigtails.

‟You damn...", Riven said. Her voice failed her. She just jumped from the cot directly into Diana's arms, while she felt tears running down her cheeks. ‟You...I..." Riven felt Diana's hand at her back, which gently stroked her.

‟It's alright..it's alright...we're here now", Diana replied, and smiled.

Riven looked to her left and right. Brian stood a few steps away, close to the staircase. On the other side, she spotted Vi. She wore the same strange outfit as Diana, but together with her giant hextech gloves.

‟Well...that's a reunion!", Vi said, and winked at them before turning to Brian. ‟So you were right...Mr. Noxian soldier."

‟Why should I lie to you?...even though you wanted to break my nose", Brian replied and grinned. ‟Anyway..let's get out of her as fast as we can, before they sound the alarm."

‟You're absolutely right. Come on, Riven. Cupcake and Ms. Hoverblade waiting for us upstairs. We have your weapon here", Vi said and handed over her sword. Then Brian and Vi walked upstairs, leaving Diana and Riven alone for a moment.

‟Ms. Hoverblade?", Riven asked, confused.

‟Irelia", Diana explained and smiled. ‟We will explain everything, once we get out of Zaun. Until then...stay close to me."

‟Diana...", Riven said quietly. Somehow she felt an urge within her.

‟Hm?", she replied and turned around again, only to get surprised by a rather short, but, nevertheless lovely kiss from Riven. They allowed themselves a few seconds, before Riven interrupted the kiss again.

‟Feels better now...", Riven said, and simply smiled. She didn't need to say anything.

‟Yeah, you're definitely right", Diana replied. She had a warm smile on her face. ‟Let's go then, huh? You..owe me something." She winked at her.

‟How could I forget? Let's go, Diana!", Riven said with new found assurance. Right now, she felt like anything would turn out well. She even felt like fighting a whole army of super soldiers.

They both turned around, and walked upstairs to the waiting others.


	14. Path to Freedom

**Author's Note**

Stealth, and something like a boss fight in this chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Otherwise..nothing more to say...oh, only one thing. Originally the escape part should be one chapter..but, now I made two out of it! More content for you! I'm too creative :P

**Chapter 14**

**Path to Freedom **

As they stepped out in the corridors, Riven looked around. The corridor was utterly dark, only a few lights were left. On the left side, she spotted Irelia which leaned against a wall, her blades hovering around her. She peered around a corner, obviously watching if someone would come. She wore a dark, tight leather outfit with a fitting mask. The other side of the corridor was secured by Caitlyn, which hold her sniper rifle in her hands. She wore the same street wear as Vi and Diana, and looked around the corner with the help of a small mirror.

‟Alright, everyone is ready", Brian mumbled, and walked over to Caitlyn. ‟We cannot pass the main gate. It was pure luck, that we made it in like this in the first time."

‟Where do we go then?", Irelia whispered. Her blade whirled around, it nearly looked like it felt the tension.

‟There is an old side-entrance used by some workers. The security is not so tight there. Even though we need to blast open the gates", Brian replied.

‟Ha! Boom baby...I can handle this", Vi said somehow euphoric.

‟Alright, let's go. Stay together and watch every corner...and no loud noises. Alright Vi?", Caitlyn said in her direction, and frowned.

‟Aww, man. But, alright cupcake", Vi answered.

‟Stay sharp", Diana whispered and nodded in Riven's direction. ‟Even though we can handle them, doesn't mean we want a fight here."

‟How many are in the building anyway?", Riven asked to Brian.

‟Fifteen to twenty men. Not counting automatic or magical systems", Brian answered. He wore a more or less light, dark outfit. His sword was on his back, as well as some throwing knives at his belt.

‟Alright...let's move", Riven whispered and the group nodded.

Slowly the group moved through the silent facility. It was pretty dim, as most lights were turned out. Brian led them, straight through the maze of corridors, labors and medical rooms. Some of them looked pretty...scary within this light, even to Riven, who came out of a more or less sinister nation.

No word was spoken. Everyone was focused and concentrated, even Vi was silent. The tension in the air was nearly tangible. Riven licked her lips, and tightened the grip around the hilt of her blade. She was rather busy not to make any noise, and to repress the green light of the runes. 'Rather unpractical in stealth missions', she thought with a sarcastic grin.

Somehow Riven reminded this whole scenario, at her time in the Ionian war. She killed an elder, during such a night. All alone. It was the same thing. Sneaking around in dark alleys, avoiding every Ionian, breaking into houses to find evidence of her target, and then...she swallowed hard, and tried to push the thought away. During this time she wasn't a warrior. She was an assassin, just like Katarina or Talon. Not honorable, a coward who killed someone defenseless.

She felt how she clenched her fist. She tried her best not to think about things like this, as it was a rather useless thought right now. She felt Diana's hand on her shoulder, which pressed her softly. Riven looked behind her, and saw how she smiled.

‟You're alright?", Diana whispered.

‟Yeah...it's nothing, I guess", Riven answered. Diana nodded at her. 'Focus...focus now', Riven thought and crunched her teeth. They would escape. After that she could dwell on to her thoughts.

Suddenly Brian raised his hand, and the group stopped.

‟What is it?", Vi asked quietly. Before they heard footsteps. It sounded like heavy plate boots, which moved down the dark corridor.

‟Patrol ahead. Two of them..", Brian whispered. ‟Quick. Into the labor here...we need to avoid them."

‟There only two", Vi protested.

‟Oh, come on Vi. We don't need a fight with the whole place here", Irelia said, somehow annoyed.

‟Alright, alright."

Quickly they got into the small labor room, and hid themselves as good as they could. Irelia sat down behind a medical table, Vi positioned herself close to a window, and Caitlyn and Brian in the corners. Caitlyn aimed with her sniper rifle at the door, ready to shoot.

Riven herself took a spot close to the entrance door. She could see outside, as there was a glass within the door, even though it was thick and she couldn't see very much. Diana took the other side of the door, and placed a finger on her lips as the sound came closer.

The whole group held on their breath. 'Stay calm', Riven thought. She saw how two silhouettes of soldiers passed the door. One of them held something like a lantern in his hand. Riven could hear them talk about something, but she didn't understand about what. Shortly she saw how the light and silhouettes stopped, directly before their door.

Her heart skipped a beat. She saw how Brian slowly grabbed the hilt of his blade, and how Vi got ready too. Some smaller blades, which hovered around Irelia, were pointed at the entrance. Everyone was ready, if they stepped in.

Now Riven understood words: ‟Better not...they do crazy stuff in there."

‟Uah...you mean like the things this...Mundo did?"

‟Yep."

‟Uargh...that's gross. Wonder why we have an alliance with them anyway."

‟She will make us stronger, than before. We can rule this world then...but, you got a point in this one."

‟Huh...let's move on then."

The light and soldiers moved again, but even now Riven didn't breath. Riven saw how the light disappeared behind a corner and breathed out. She heard the same noise from the others, but they didn't move out. They waited. One minute, two minutes, Riven didn't know for sure.

‟Looks clear", she whispered into the room.

‟I'll check", Diana said. She opened the door, which made a faint noise. For a short moment, Riven believed her heart skipped a beat again. But, nothing happened. She clearly heard how Diana breathed out. Carefully, she peered around to the left and right, before she went out, crouched into the shadows, her blade by her side.

After a moment she came back and nodded. ‟Left clear...right clear. Let's go then", she whispered.

‟How far away is the exit?", Irelia asked.

‟Not far away anymore. But, we should me more careful right now...I guess there will be other patrols in this area", Brian answered and lead the group again out of the labor.

They went silent again, and moved out. This time far slower and quieter than before, just in case of they would be other patrols. They stopped again.

‟Soldier in front of us", Brian whispered.

‟I'll take care of it", Riven replied and crouched forward. She put her blade on her back, to have both of her hands free.

The soldier before here, was no bioforge soldier. It looked more like a regular security officer of some kind. Slowly she got closer to him, but stopped. She heard the noise of other marching boots, which came closer. She looked to the left and the right, but nothing was to see. 'Quickly...', she thought, and stood up. ‟Hey", she said. The man turned around in surprise, only to get a blow at his temple. He fell back, and Riven caught him midair. He was rather heavy. Slowly she pulled him away into the dark corridors, where the group waited.

‟Put him in this room here", Brian whispered and opened a door. With the help of Diana, they pulled the soldier into the room, and closed the door again.

‟Did you see something?", Irelia asked.

‟I head movement..but didn't see anything", Riven answered.

‟Alright...let's take a risk", Brian said, and the group nodded.

They crouched forward, to the place where Riven knocked out the soldier. Right now, nothing was to hear nor to see, so they just passed the crossroads.

‟Well, everything went smoothly right now", Vi whispered. She sounded a bit impatient. ‟When do we start punching and blowing things up?"

‟Vi got a point...", Riven whispered. ‟We can't allow Elena to produce more of these...super soldiers."

‟Then we should go to the main lab", Brian said. ‟It's only a small detour."

‟Should we really do this? Isn't it against the rules of the League?", Irelia asked.

‟Guess not...Elena is a traitor to it...and even though we're right in Zaun...", Diana answered and grinned. ‟So, I think it doesn't matter anymore."

‟Can't be bad, to hurt Zaun somewhere they will feel it", Caitlyn said. ‟Alright...let's go to the main labs."

‟Alright. Follow me", Brian said and took the lead again.

After they moved on through dark corridors, and empty rooms for about two minutes, something happened they didn't expect. Suddenly all lights were turned on, even the ones in the labor and medical rooms. They heard another noise, which rang through the whole building. A steady, repetitive noise, which echoed through the hallways.

‟Alarm?!", Vi asked and stood up. She readied her giant hextech gloves and grinned. ‟Well, that's good. Time to punch something."

‟This is indeed an alarm! Run to the exit! No time for the lab!", Brian yelled. Brian led them in other directions, even though Riven felt unhappy about it. Without their interference Elena could build an entire army of super soldiers. But, they couldn't fight against a whole bunch of soldiers either. Riven crunched her teeth and just followed Brian.

‟How could that happen?", Diana yelled, as the alarm sound went louder and louder.

‟They must have checked Riven's cell."

‟How is that possible? You told us there wouldn't be controls like this", Caitlyn asked.

‟Change of plans, I guess. Maybe Scarlet or someone like this."

‟Then we should hurry!", Irelia yelled. ‟I don't think we could handle an entire unit of bioforge soldiers!"

‟Irelia got a point! They would kill us!", Riven yelled. ‟I don't like it either..but, we have no choice! Run!"

They started to run, and didn't care anymore about the noise they made. Only to run directly into two soldiers, which just looked at them for a moment. They looked back. This was somehow a short, strange moment.

‟They're here!", one of them yelled. Before he could react any further, Vi charged at them both.

‟Good flight!", she yelled, laughing. Different mechanics at her gauntlets lit up, and then she hit both of the soldiers. They flew through the whole corridor, until they hit a wall. Knocked out by pure power. ‟Told ya, they're not that hard!", Vi yelled.

‟Reinforcements!", Riven screamed as she saw at least a dozen of bioforge soldiers, which came around a corner. They looked at their comrades, which lay on the ground before they spotted them.

‟Get them! Now!", one of their leader yelled.

‟Shit! How far away?!", Caitlyn yelled. From somewhere she drew something, what looked like a small grenade. She threw it into the corridor. As it explodes a gray smoke started to fill the whole corridor. A smoke grenade. They heard how soldiers started to cough, as they breathed it in.

‟We're nearly there! Keep moving!"

They ran again, while they heard the curses of bioforge soldiers behind them. Just as they wanted to go left, they spotted some other security soldiers. Regular Zaunite soldiers. ‟Shit! Who are these guys?", Brian yelled surprised. They heard the sound of releasing safety catches from pistols.

‟Other way around!", Irelia yelled, as the soldiers opened fire on them. Luckily, their shoots weren't really aimed, and some were blocked by Brian, which simply stood in their way. His armor caught most of them.

‟You're alright?", Riven asked.

‟I'm fine! We have no other choice anymore! Through the main labs!" They turned around and ran into another direction.

‟How can they be here so fast?", Diana asked, while they sprinted into the last hallway, which wasn't filled with Zaun's soldiers.

‟There is a security office nearby! But, normally it's not manned during this time!", Brian answered. They spotted a giant metal door in front of their way. ‟The door!"

With a single swung off her weapon, Diana sent moonlight in the direction of the metal door, which was kicked out of the hinges with a loud explosion.

The really big area which they entered now was lit by floodlights. Riven had never seen such a labor. In the middle dozens of white tables stood around, some were filled with papers, on other some flasks stood around. Riven even spotted some modern looking weaponry, and something which reminded her of televisions or something like this.

On the far side of the room, she spotted two chambers, which were filled with some form of green gas. The doors were shut tight, and in them she spotted some sort of cots, as well as giant test tubes filled with the same green liquid Riven had seen by the soldier within the arena.

A staircase on the left side of the labor, led to a small platform, which lead over to the small chambers. Riven spotted some other devices there. As she looked up, she spotted many tubes. Some were transparent and filled with a blue liquid, or some form of gas. All in all, this was by far the most modern room, Riven had ever seen. Even Piltover was nothing against it.

A few other doors, were inside this room. They all were shut tight.

‟What's next?", Caitlyn asked.

‟Right door! At the end of this, there is a staircase which will lead us out of here through an emergency exit!", Brian yelled, before they heard another voice from upstairs.

‟So! You're the little traitor to Noxus! Soldiers! Get them and kill them! I'll take care of HER!" Riven looked up again, and on the platform she spotted Scarlet as well as bioforge soldiers, all were armed with axes or giant swords.

‟They still coming!", Caitlyn yelled as she looked over her shoulder.

‟I'll take care of it!", Riven said, and drew her sword, with one fluid movement. Just as she touched it, it started to assemble itself into the full sword form. She didn't even think about it anymore, she just did it. With a loud scream she released a devastating wind slash. The wave of energy hit the wall above the entrance, with a loud noise. Stone and other junk came down, and the whole area was buried by it. Nobody would enter or leave right now.

‟That will not help you!", Scarlet yelled and drew her axe.

‟Come at me!", Riven yelled back, somehow she felt excited. A small grin was on her face. ‟Let's go!", she rallied her allies. 'I do miss battlefields..right?', she thought for a moment, before she readied herself for Scarlet's attack.

Scarlet just jumped from the second floor down, her axe high above her head. Riven grabbed her sword with both hands, and raised her blade. Scarlet's axe and her sword hit each other with an unbelievable force. Riven nearly needed to kneel down. Her arms were trembling slightly.

Scarlet was quickly overwhelming her with pure strength, as their weapons pushed against each other. Riven jumped back, Scarlet's axe nearly hit the ground because of the sudden movement from her. Riven gathered runic energy at the sharp side of the blade, and released another devastating wind slash. Scarlet avoided it, by throwing herself down on the ground. Tables and flasks flew through the whole room, as the energy hit it.

For a moment, Riven got a glimpse of the others. Everyone was more or less busy, fighting with other bioforge soldiers, which jumped down as well. The whole labor turned into chaos and junk, as bullets, magical spells or weapons hit everything what was in their reach.

‟Eyes on the opponent, Riven!" Scarlet stood again and charged into battle once more. Their weapons clashed one more time. ‟Did I ever tell you...how much I hate you?"

Riven put her left hand on the blade itself, to brace herself against Scarlet's axe. ‟You didn't. But, I could guess." With a loud scream Riven released a Ki Burst, and for a moment Scarlet stumbled back as the energy hit her.

‟You're a coward! Elena sees in you the perfect soldier! I will erase you from this world!", Scarlet snarled at her, as she shook her head and readied her weapon once more.

‟So...you frustrated, because for her...you're nothing more than another pawn. Is that right?", Riven said and swung her blade around. Something exploded behind her, most likely some chemicals, which someone normally wouldn't mix together.

‟I will show her, that I am the superior soldier! I kill you and your puny Noxian dream with it! I will not fail!"

Riven just looked at her for a moment. ‟You can still turn around...and choose your own path."

‟I have chosen it before a long time. I choose to serve and follow! Huh...", Scarlet laughed shortly, ‟You're right in one point. Right now, I am nothing more than a pawn...but I will show her...and demonstrate you the true Noxian way!"

‟Then...the time for talk is over. I don't want to kill other Noxians, because I think most of them are just blind to the truth of High Command...", Riven replied, and grabbed her sword again with both hands. She felt the runic energy within her body. For a short moment, she heard the sound of digging behind her. 'I need to end this quickly...', she thought. 'Before they break through the junk...'

Scarlet charged at her again, and started to attack her recklessly. Riven was able to hold her ground and parry most of the attacks. But blow after blow, she felt how the runic energy of her blade slowly disappeared. She was most likely at the limit, of how long she could uphold her sword. 'Shit..', she cursed. When Scarlet held this up, she wasn't able to counterattack.

‟Need some help?!" Riven heard Diana's voice, and saw some bolts of lunar energy which hit Scarlet in the back. She moaned in pain, and stopped her attacks for a moment.

That was all what Riven needed. She jumped back again. ‟You are beyond redemption!", she said. Her voice echoed, as she released all runic energy at once in a more or less uncontrolled wind slash. Scarlet was hit by it, and flew through the whole labor. She took nearly half of the entire equipment with her. With a loud noise she hit the wall, some metal parts and other junk fell down on her.

Riven breathed heavily. Her blade disappeared into nothing and she fell on her back, looking at the ceiling. ‟Riven!", she heard Diana's voice and then she saw her worried face. ‟You're alright?" She felt Diana's hand, which softly stroked her cheek and forehead. Diana didn't seem to be injured heavily. Several smaller cuts, but overall fine.

Riven tried her best to grin a bit. ‟I guess so...thank you for your help. Without you..I wouldn't make it." She breathed out. ‟...I'm pretty exhausted like never before...is everyone alright?"

‟Why do you overextend like this, huh?", Diana replied with a smile. ‟We're mostly fine..but Caitlyn and Brian are injured."

‟How bad?", Riven asked, worried, and tried to get up.

‟Vi and Irelia treat them right now...", Diana answered and helped her to get up. Riven nodded at her thankfully. She had never felt so weak before. She looked at her blade. All runes of it, looked just like green, painted symbols. They glowed very faintly. It looked like she used all of her runic energy.

With the help of Diana, she walked over to the other four. She looked around. The labor was a mess. Nothing stood in place anymore, tables were broken, papers lay around everywhere and even the metal ground was destroyed at some points. Most soldiers lay on the ground, some were severely injured, while others nearly looked alright. She heard how the soldiers from the other side of the junk, cursed loudly.

‟How is it?", Diana asked them.

‟Not good. Brian has a broken leg, and cupcake here is barely conscious..she lost much blood", Vi answered. She sounded and looked very worried. ‟Cupcake?", she asked and looked down at Caitlyn.

‟It's...fine..don't make such a face, Vi", Caitlyn answered, and coughed. Riven looked down at her. Caitlyn had severely bad cuts around her body, which were all covered by provisional bandages. She was pale.

‟I'll take her", Vi said and carefully picked Caitlyn up. Caitlyn held on to Vi's chest armor, and closed her eyes, she breathed heavily. As Riven watched Vi, she was somehow surprised how careful and caring, she was. Riven always thought about her, as someone who couldn't be knocked down. But, right now she looked more like a worried...lover?

‟Alright", Riven said and nodded in her direction. They didn't have much time to think about it. ‟Brian?", she asked and looked to the soldier. His plate armor at his leg, was torn apart. Riven didn't see much blood at all. She saw how Irelia moved the leg a bit, and Brian grimaced.

‟Not good...he can't burden his right leg anymore...we can't move fast anymore", Irelia answered, and helped Brian to stand up again. She herself looked alright. She had some cuts at her armor, but overall she looked fine.

‟We..still can escape. Go..through the emergency exit. Right door...", Brian said and coughed.

Slowly they walked through the labor. ‟How do we escape anyway?", Riven asked.

‟We have some something planned for our escape...even though it will be hard right now. Brian can't drive anymore, and cupcake is down too...", Vi answered. ‟So, Riven...do you have ever driven a...bike?"

‟Once, when I was small. After that, never again...why?", she asked, confused.

‟Well...you will see if we get there", Vi replied.

Riven looked at Diana, which looked at her with the same puzzled expression. ‟Vi said she would take care of our transport..so I don't know anything either", Diana whispered to Riven.

‟Well...that could be interesting", Riven replied, and sighed.

Vi kicked open the door, which led them through another small dim corridor, and at the end of it a staircase, which led them down? ‟Wait..where are we?", Vi asked as they walked down the stairs.

‟Somewhere under Zaun in the sewer. You know...they can't have an opened exit for everyone somewhere, where everyone could possible see it. So, it was built where people normally not walk", Brian answered.

Vi opened another door and stepped out, followed by the rest of their group. ‟Uargh...that's disgusting", Irelia said, and hold one hand before her mouth and nose.

The sewer from Zaun was anything, but not pleasant for nose nor the eyes. Some small electrical lights, lit the whole thing, even though the light was dim and most parts stayed dark. In the middle of the sewer flowed the water. Or something like this. It looked more or less like a viscous...thing than water. They spotted some flasks, and other...unrecognizable things within it. It looked like it glowed from the inside.

‟Chemicals, junk, runoff waste..everything comes down here..you better not step into anything...it could be very dangerous", Brian explained.

Left and right, and a bit above the 'water' like substance, were two ways most likely for maintenance. Even though Riven' stomach was hardened from the smell of battlefields, even for her that was disgusting. The ways were covered with dirt, flasks, and syringes, some of them were filled with a substance.

‟Which way?", she asked Brian.

‟I think in about...two hundred meters there should be an exit. Even though it will be hard for someone like me...it's only a ladder", Brian answered and grinned with gallows humor.

‟Will be fine...even though we could use some rest...cupcake is not well", Vi said worried and looked down at Caitlyn, which had still closed her eyes.

‟We'll think about it, when we have left this...sewers", Diana said, disgusted, and they started walking again. Slowly, as nobody of them wanted to slip on the wet underground.

‟Are you fine?", Diana asked quietly and looked to her.

‟Yeah..even though I could use a rest too...what about you?", Riven answered, even though she still felt like every energy was out of her body.

‟I'm good", Diana said with a smile. ‟Although I could use a rest too...I miss your head on me." She winked at her, and Riven blushed slightly.

The rest of their walk, they were silent. After a few more minutes, they reached the exit of the sewers. A rusty, old ladder, which would lead them to a hidden place, behind some buildings. Or at least Brian told them it would be like this. It took them about ten minutes, to get out of them. With pushing, helping hands and some improvised ropes, they got out.

Riven looked around. They stood in some sort of backyard, filled with trash, some empty barrels and painted walls. Some sort of neon pink color was sprayed on them, with different slogans of different underground groups. All in all it looked pretty rundown.

‟Where do we go now?", Riven asked.

‟We not suited to fleeing with motorbikes...that's what you find, right Vi?", Brian asked in her direction, and she nodded. ‟Huh..then, we should rest for now, and wait until tomorrow", Brian said and pointed in the direction of one exit. ‟From here it's a short walk to a small inn. The innkeeper is a good man, he will not tell anyone about anything."

‟Alright...", Riven replied and they walked on, before she realized something. ‟Wait..did you say..motorbikes? What the hell is that supposed to be?"

‟Think about bikes in the form of a motorized vehicle", Vi said. Riven's mind worked and she saw something which looked like a combination of Piltovers cars and a bike.

‟Huh...", she mumbled plainly. ‟You want us to ride something like this?"

‟Yep. It's easy enough, and there wasn't any other form of faster transport method...and horses are too slow, besides, we wouldn't find something to eat or drink for them within miles around Zaun", Vi answered.

‟I don't have any idea, what you're talking about...", Diana said with a puzzled look on her face.

‟Me neither...you Piltovians are crazy", Irelia said. ‟When I reached your city, I spotted these strange metal creatures. They were pretty...uah." Irelia shivered.

‟Man! You're outdated...you know you all should take a vacation in our city, then you would understand! Right, cupcake?"

Caitlyn coughed, but she smiled shortly. ‟Guess you're right about this Vi...but, how we should escape now? On these things there is only place for one person.."

‟We think about that later. Maybe I can find a side car or something like this out there...anyway, let's get to this inn and rest for a moment", Vi said, and they left the backyard.

This whole city district looked pretty rundown. It was utterly dark, the few lamps were not even close enough to light the streets. Only a few people were around, and they didn't pay much attention to them. Some wobbled, like they were drunk. While some others held something in their hands, which reminded Riven of some form of...powder. Most likely something like drugs or stuff like this.

Riven never felt so...disgusted from a city, and in the face of the others she read the same feelings. She heard that Zaun's trademark was 'freedom in everything'. 'Tse..even freedom should have some rules..', she thought, as they passed a wall which was filled with neon green paroles.

‟Here we are...thank you by the way", Brian said to Irelia, which helped him out walking.

‟No problem", she said with a smile and opened the door to the small inn. The windows were nearly all shabby. From the outside nobody could see inside, and only spotted some small lights most likely from candles or something like this.

As they entered Riven looked around. It was somehow a classic tavern, most of the furniture was made out of solid, dark wood. Some candles and electrical lights, lit the whole place. Even though it was rundown like everything else outside.

Even though it was late at night, the innkeeper stood behind his bar and watched as they entered. He was a big man, with no hair left on his head, which was compensated by a long beard. He eyed Vi, who carried Caitlyn, Brian in his armor suit, the hovering blades around Irelia.

‟Well, well, Brian...rather unusual friends you have there", he said with a grin.

‟Shut up man", Brian replied with a wide grin on his face. ‟We need some rooms for a rest this night. Zaun's security is hunting us right now..."

‟Wow. That escalated quickly. Alright, I owe you something anyway. Go up and rest...I will close now, I think", the innkeeper said and pointed to some staircases. ‟I don't ask anything like usually. And I don't ask, why this girl there has blades which fly around her, which nearly look like the ones this 'Irelia' uses. But, anyway..." He winked at them and walked over to the door.

They followed him with their sights as he hung a shield outside. Closed. ‟What are you waiting for? Go on. Doors not closed so...if you want something, tell me."

‟Do you have some medical equipment? She is injured and need some help", Vi asked and looked at him. Her face full of worries.

‟I have. I'll bring them up to you together with something good to eat", the man said and walked behind his bar again.

‟Thanks man", Brian said and walked to the staircase.

‟Thank you...", the rest of their group said and followed him upstairs. It looked the same like downstairs. Made out of solid wood. A few doors were there, some were open most likely the rooms which weren't filled with other guests.

‟Should we have a night watch?", Diana asked.

‟Not necessary. The whole inn has a security system...when they knock here or try to break in, an alarm sound would wake us up. And my friend down there, would wake us in this case", Brian said and walked into one room. ‟Just a have a good night..."

They all walked in different rooms, while Riven and Diana shared one like the did since Ionia. It was a small room, with two beds, a shabby window which showed only a small alley with nothing interesting. Nothing more was there.

Just as they entered, Diana dropped her weapon beside her, and threw herself on one bed. Pretty much exhausted. ‟Gosh..I really want my clothing again..how can these Zaun guys wear something like this the whole time?", she complained, and lay on her back. She waved at Riven to lay down beside her.

‟Good question..even though I like your hairstyle", Riven replied, and grinned. She put her sword on the other bed and slipped out of her boots. She lay down besides Diana, face to face with her. Somehow she felt how a a sudden relaxation traveled through her body.

‟We made it...", she whispered to Diana and smiled. She felt how Diana's forehead pushed gently against her own.

‟Not quite yet..but for now we are safe...", Diana replied. Riven purred quietly as she felt Diana's hand on her back, and hips. Diana smiled at her for a moment, before she gave her a long, loving kiss on the lips. Riven returned it, and for a moment they just forgot the outside world, and their whole situation.

‟Hm...I really hope we will have some more time for us...", Diana said, and winked at her.

‟Huh..you're growing impatient?", Riven replied with a grin.

‟Hey..you just left, as we wanted to start.."

‟Yeah, right. That's my fault", Riven said and laughed quietly. She put her head, on Diana's chest, which was her favorite place of sleeping. ‟I love you..."

‟I love you too, Riven...", Diana said. Riven closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep while Diana stroked over her arms and back. The last thing she thought to hear, was something like a crow from a raven.


	15. Motorized Escape

**Author's Note**

Heavily inspired chapter by ‟Final Fantasy – Advent Children". I know some of you will not like, the technology used in this chapter..but, you know..a voice in the back of my head constantly told me: ‟If you don't write this..YOU WILL REGRET IT!"

If you wondered how their bikes look, search for ‟Fenrir Final Fantasy" (as inspiration) you will find it then.

**Chapter 15 **

**Motorized Escape**

Slowly Riven awoke, and blinked a few times. For a moment she thought everything was just a dream and she would awake within the League besides Diana. But, as soon as she saw the rundown ceiling, she knew it wasn't. She closed her eyes for a moment, and yawned. At least she slept very good.

She felt beside her, only to find the rest of the bed empty. Diana had to be up already. Riven wondered for a short moment, as normally she would wake her up. Anyway. Riven stood up, arranged her more or less messy hair and clothing, and grabbed her sword. She put it on her back, and stretched.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise from downstairs, it sounded like two people were discussing something very loud. She didn't understand what the topic was though. 'What the hell?', she

thought. She looked around for a moment, before she left the room and walked downstairs.

Riven stepped into the main room of the tavern and looked around. Vi and Irelia stood near the bar, and looked at each other angrily. Brian sat at the bar, a cup in his hand and watched them. Diana sat a bit away, and looked a bit annoyed while she drank out of a jug. Caitlyn was nowhere to see. No other guests were around.

‟That's the most stupid idea, I've ever heard!", Irelia yelled.

‟Do you have something better in mind?", Vi grumbled back.

‟Not quite yet. But everything is better, than this! You want that a whole city is hunting us?"

‟Ladies! Calm down already!", Brian said in a calm tone. ‟With this loud noise, it's a wonder they didn't already catch us!" Irelia and Vi grumbled quietly at each other.

‟Morning", Riven said plainly. They looked at her and greeted back. Riven sat down beside Diana, which shortly smiled at her. ‟What is it? You can hear the noise upstairs."

‟Little discussion here", the innkeeper said, and looked at her. ‟Do you want something?"

‟Something which help me to wake up, would be good", Riven answered and looked over her shoulder to Irelia and Vi, which stared at each other for a moment.

‟So...could anyone explain it to me?", Riven asked and nodded at the innkeeper, as he placed a cup before her. She nipped at it. It tasted like a combination of tea, and much sugar. But, at least it tasted good.

‟Vi suggested an escape plan, and already set everything up! But, that's ridiculous!", Irelia exclaimed and sat down as well.

‟She said, we should use the motorbikes to escape through the main door...our friend here", Diana nodded at the innkeeper, ‟told us that they all are guarded. We would break through, and escape through the plains." Her voice was calm as usual, and didn't reveal her feelings toward it.

‟What about Brian and Caitlyn?", Riven asked and looked to Vi. ‟Caitlyn said about these..things is only space for one person."

‟I organized two side cars, from one backyard shop. It took me half of the night, to attach them to our bikes. Brian and Caitlyn will sit in there, while the rest of us drive out. Any pursuers will get kicked away. Easy plan", Vi answered and grinned.

‟You know, that we three never used such vehicles. We should think about something else...", Riven said and nipped at her cup again.

‟I told her that! But, she insisted that we could learn it until midday...and Brian..", Irelia glared over at the soldier, ‟supported this stupid idea!"

‟Vi is right about the thing, that you can easily learn it until midday. With a side car, it's even easier because you can't fall over to one side. Zaun doesn't have any high walls, or something like this. With our combined strength we can easily break through the barricades, and lose our pursues on the plains. In case of emergency..you can easily use your wind slash and fight them off", Brian explained to them.

‟Besides...we don't have much time to organize complicated plans. We need to get away from here, as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will find us eventually", Brian added, while the innkeeper put a tray with a breakfast on the wooden table. Brian nodded at him thankfully.

‟Hey moonlady. What is your opinion on this?", Vi asked her. Diana looked annoyed for a short moment because of the name, and looked over her shoulder.

‟Huh...I don't like it either..but, in our condition...Brian has a broken leg, Caitlyn isn't able to move much either, so on foot isn't an option. And horses don't work too, as you told us", Diana said and sighed quietly, ‟Guess we need to stick with that plan. But, as Irelia said...it's a more or less stupid idea. After all we went through, that's the riskiest part of it."

Irelia sat down at the bar, and sighed. ‟We stake everything on one card, and hope that not the whole Zaun military wants to hunt us down."

‟You're such a pessimist, Ms. Hoverblade", Vi said with a grin. ‟Will be fine."

‟I don't believe they would risk that much. After all Zaun can't officially help Elena in big ways, otherwise the League will punish the whole city for breaking the rules. Attacking and stealing technology from another city state, keep a champion of the League as a prisoner. That's some big issues. And when they start a big chase within the plains, it will be noticed", Brian said.

‟You know much about it, don't you?", Riven asked and looked at him.

‟If you work for Elena, you caught many different things. One of them is the rules of the League and so on...just in case", Brian winked at her, and started eating.

‟So...Riven? What is your opinion on this?", Irelia asked her.

‟Huh...", Riven thought about it for a moment. She looked over the group. She didn't have any other plans right now in her head, and Brian got a point. Working one out would take far too long and every moment they waited here in Zaun, the risk raised to be discovered. Besides...with the heavy injured Caitlyn, they couldn't walk. ‟We don't have another choice. Guess it's worth trying."

‟Alright, then. If you say so, I'll follow the group's decision..even though I still think it's stupid", Irelia replied. She sighed and nipped at her cup.

‟The only problem is...where do we practice something like this?", Riven asked.

‟There is an old junkyard nearby. Normally there aren't any people, nor police. I could organize something for you. We take the motorbikes there and you can practice the whole day. We will even refill the fuel", the innkeeper said. ‟Will be ready within the hour."

‟We're in your debt", Riven said.

‟It's a friendly help", the man said. ‟I will tell you, when everything is ready." With that, he left the inn, hung the closed shield at the door and walked off. The group shortly looked after him.

‟Crazy man...why is he doing something like this?", Irelia asked.

‟He's an old friend of mine. We were in the military, but he settled down after one campaign and built up his little tavern here. He owes me a few favors, because I saved his ass a few times", Brian answered and grinned.

‟What's his name anyway? You didn't tell us", Vi asked, and drank out of a jug.

‟Jake. Even though that's not his right name. After the campaign he started anew in Zaun. Can't blame him, after all the things which happened back then", Brian said thoughtfully, and stretched his muscles. ‟Anyway...keep it with innkeeper or something like this." Brian started to eat again, and put out a newspaper from somewhere.

There was a short silence between them, before Riven raised her voice again, with a question that burned in her since yesterday: ‟How did you enter Zaun anyway?"

‟We used a Zeppelin from Piltover, which brought us as close as it could. Then we waltzed right through the front door...this is why we wear this stuff here. Only Irelia sneaked in", Vi said and grinned to Diana. ‟And that's why she has this pigtails. Even though I told her she should have colored it neon pink." Diana grimaced for a moment, and for a moment it looked like she wanted to punch Vi.

‟Zaun have a horrible taste in fashion...and hair style..", Diana replied, as calm as she could.

‟Yep. I like your open long hair far more...", Riven said, and earned a gentle nudge from Diana, she laughed quietly.

‟You have nerves to speak about fashion in such a situation...I understand now how you can get along." Brian grinned, before he read the paper again.

‟I have some crazy girls as friends...oh man", Irelia said, and laughed quietly.

‟Aww, you look so cute when you laugh Ms. Hoverblade", Vi replied, and grinned broadly.

‟Could you stop with the whole 'Ms. Hoverblade' thing? And by the way...aren't you with Caitlyn?", Irelia asked and frowned.

‟Eh..." Riven looked over to Vi, which blushed for a moment. It was obviously that Irelia hit a spot. But, then she returned to her normal attire. ‟That was just a compliment! Alright. Then I call you... huh...I don't have a good name right now! I stick with Ms. Hoverblade!"

‟Vi!"

Riven sighed while the both continued with their discussion. Brian ate his breakfast and studied the Zaun newspaper from today. So she turned to Diana. ‟No real good morning today?", she said, with a played sad expression on her face.

‟I did it. But, you slept like a stone..no knight nor prince could wake up such a princess", Diana replied and laughed quietly, while Riven blushed. ‟Did you sleep well at least?"

‟Hm..yes. It was really comfy on your chest. I guess I was still pretty exhausted from yesterday...using all of the energy wasn't my best idea", Riven answered.

‟Well, it saved us. You improved much, even though it was only a short period of time", Diana replied and smiled. ‟Even though it was rather reckless to destroy the whole entrance."

‟That was a spontaneous idea from me", Riven said. She rubbed the back of her head. ‟Anyway it worked out." Riven sighed quietly. Diana laid an arm around her, and pulled her a bit closer to her. She stroked her gently. ‟What happened to you in Piltover? Didn't have time to ask you that."

‟I woke up with a terrible headache, and from the loud noises of the Piltovian's police vehicles", Diana began. ‟Caitlyn and Vi have been already at the hotel and checked everything. As they told me, the girl from the entrance informed them about intruders...they held every other guest as their hostages, while others stormed our room.

Luckily, for us was that Caitlyn already assumed that Zaun was behind everything. The dead soldier was proof enough for her. So we set out to 'visit' Zaun. Irelia came with us by chance, as she just arrived as we wanted to leave. You know...this whole thing isn't permitted by the League. We would have informed the League..but it hasn't much power within the city states borders. And if they would ask the chef from Zaun, he would have denied any connection with it.

Anyway..after we arrived here, we have a bit luck by meeting Brian. He saw Irelia, and asked us what we were doing here. That was a tough round, as we didn't trust him, but in the end, we worked together as we wanted the same thing. Save you."

‟That's...wow. You broke so many rules, just because of me?", Riven asked.

‟Yeah. And Vi wanted to crush some Zaunite people", Diana grinned. ‟Besides..I'm pretty sure they forgive us about this little...incident, when we told them about everything we know. With the help of Brian, this won't be a problem."

‟I guess so...because I don't want that you get punished for this", Riven replied.

‟Look a bit more optimistic in the future."

‟And that is coming from someone like you...yeah right." Riven laughed quietly.

‟I try my best!", Diana said. She moved closer to Riven's head and gave her a short kiss on the lips. ‟That was for the missing good morning."

‟Hm...feels good", Riven replied and smiled happily. ‟Right now...I know we can make it."

‟Glad to hear that. I guess...I should motivate you like this more often, huh?", Diana said, and laughed.

The door to the inn was opened and the innkeeper stepped right in. He took the 'closed'-shield with him, and looked at the group. ‟Didn't want to break your little party here. But everything is ready for you. Brian you know the way, right?"

‟Yep. I will show them", he said, and stood up with the help of Irelia.

‟Wait a sec...I will take a look at cupcake", Vi said and stood up as well. They waited for a short moment, until they both came down again. Vi helped Caitlyn to go. She looked pretty pale, but smiled. Riven clearly saw some bandages here and there, even though she tried to hide most of it with her clothing.

‟Morning...so we want to leave yeah?", she asked.

‟Yeah. And we use the motorbikes, like Vi suggested. You're able to walk a short moment?", Riven asked.

‟Yeah..will be fine. I will take a rest, when we arrive at the junkyard."

‟Alright..let's go then."

‟Alright. Thank you man. I guess we don't come back", Brian said to the innkeeper.

‟Well, have a good life in Piltover then. Maybe I will visit you, when I have the time and the money for it", Jake replied and grinned. ‟I want to see two clever girls then, alright?"

‟Ha! You will." They shook their hands for a moment, before they saluted to each other in a last act of respect. ‟See you again, my friend."

‟Yep. And for everyone else here..good luck."

‟Thank you for everything...goodbye then", Riven replied. Everyone else nodded at the innkeeper, said a goodbye before they left and went on the streets of Zaun.

The only difference from the night was that there were much more people around. Different street merchants sold different goods, reaching from old hextech devices, to normal clothing, and some more hidden merchants even sold stuff like drugs, illegal magical substances and so on. It was a place where you probably could buy anything you want. Luckily, most people weren't really interested in their small group, and were more interested in buying stuff.

Brian led them through different alleys and streets until they reached a street were no other houses were around anymore. Not even people were here anymore. Riven looked up in the sky, which wasn't to see because of smog from the uncontrolled factories of Zaun. 'How can they live like this?', she thought.

‟There we are. Junkyard from Zaun", Brian said and pointed in front of them. The junkyard was a place filled with...junk. Small towers of old magical or technical devices filled the space. Riven didn't recognize even a few of them. Most of it was just thrown away, and nobody seemed to really care about it. At some spots she spotted some form of empty flasks, and small green puddles, were different mixtures mixed themselves together.

‟Zaun don't care much about their environment, do they?", Irelia said disgusted.

‟No, they don't. They take what they want, and do what they want. I guess they're the craziest people on all of Valoran..anyway, let's search for our escape vehicles", Brian replied and they entered the junkyard.

After a short moment of searching they found it. And Riven was more or less speechless. The motorbikes looked in a distant form like normal bikes. Only that the wheels were even thicker than Riven's thigh, and they looked somehow armored. All of them were painted black. The only color on them, were some silver devices which looked like..well, Riven didn't have a fitting word for it. But, she knew that Piltovians called them exhaust-pipe or something like this. On two of them Riven spotted some form of sidecars, most likely for Caitlyn and Brian.

‟What...the...hell...", was everything Riven, Irelia and Diana could say.

‟Yeah! Now let's go we don't have much time. Mount up and drive!", Vi exclaimed, excited and from somewhere she took out some pair of goggles. ‟Put it on. To pretend dirt and dust coming into your eyes." She walked over to one of the bikes with a side car, and Caitlyn sat down.

‟This has to be a bad joke...", Riven said and put on the goggles, while she walked to one of the machines. She swung one leg over the seat and looked down. At least she spotted some similarities to the Piltovian cars. One indicator how fast she was, another one for the remaining fuel. 'I should walk..they can escape like this..', she thought for a moment.

‟Alright. Let me explain everything to you. Here you can accelerate and here you can start the engines", Vi pointed at the right side of the bike where Riven's feet was, and at one button directly before her. ‟Here you slow down", she pointed closer to Riven's left feet. ‟And..yeah. That's it! You don't have to know much more. To move to one side you have to lean towards the side you want to go. In some case..just like with a horse. Don't overdo it, otherwise you will fly away and get hurt. Alright! Let's do it!" Vi walked over to explain the same things to Diana and Irelia.

‟You throw me in like this? Oh man...", Riven said and leaned a bit forward to reach the handlebar. It was like sitting on a horse in full gallop. Without the movement. She swallowed hard, and pushed the button to start the engine, which awoke with a loud roar.

‟You can do it, Riven! Or better..you have to!", Brian encouraged her.

‟I hate technology...", she replied. Slowly she accelerated and took her left leg from the ground. At least she didn't fall over to one side. 'Good start for this', she thought. Slowly, her motorbike moved, even though Riven still didn't feel very good. It felt too...unnatural? Was that the right word?

‟More speed Riven! If we want to escape, we need to break through their front doors!", Vi yelled.

With no other choice, Riven accelerated a bit more and more. She looked down for a second. 15...20...even though that wasn't very fast, at least for the motorbike, she was already nearly as fast as one of the horses. She swallowed hard again.

‟Lean left! Left!" She heard Vi's voice, and looked forward. Directly before here was a small mountain of junk. The left side was empty enough to come through. She tightened the grip around the handlebars, and leaned onto to her left side as well as she steered a bit left.

‟Too hard! You're leaning to hard!"

‟Ahh!", Riven yelled more or less in surprise, as she felt how the wheels lost ground contact. More in reflex than anything else, she jumped out of the seat, and landed on some metal junk while the motorbike just slid over the ground before it came to a hold. She moaned in pain.

‟Riven? You're alright?", she heard Diana's and Vi's voice which ran to her.

‟Yeah..yeah..I'm fine", she stood up again, and rubbed her back.

‟You leaned too hard on one side. You need to do it..softer", Vi said, and grinned. ‟Nevertheless, a good start for a beginner. You didn't fall over."

They heard the sound of another motorbike, and then spotted Irelia how she just got around the curve. It looked more or less pretty easy on her. She stopped before them. ‟You're okay?"

‟Yep. It's nothing", Riven answered. ‟You made it look pretty easy.."

‟Well...", Irelia replied, and grinned, ‟an Ionia saying says 'Balance in all things'. Guess I did it right?"

‟Yeah pretty good Ms. Hoverblade. Alright..let's try it again."

Slowly the hours passed, while the sound of roaring motors never stopped in the junkyard. Over and over again, they drove different routes, with a different speed and at one point Riven and Diana even fought a bit while on their bikes. Even though they drove rather slow. It was far more complicated than Riven imagined. She needed to concentrate no to fall over, hold the balance and steer into the right directions, while holding up her blade and parry Diana's attacks. Even though she slowly got something like a feel for this kind of machine.

More hours passed. Even though they didn't have a real feeling for time, without any clocks or something like this, they could tell that it must be already in the afternoon, as the light conditions slowly started to change. Even though it was still bright.

At one point Vi stopped them, while they tried a more or less complex chasing through the whole junkyard, driving pretty fast and tight corners.

‟It is time?", Riven asked and stopped the motor. She put down her goggles, which left some marks on her face as she wore them for hours right now. Even though she was lucky, that Vi had these things with here. Without it would be rather hard to drive. The two others stopped beside her.

‟It is. You all did very well. You learned pretty fast...and it will be enough for us to get out of here. Alright, let's make a plan now. Diana you will take the one with a sidecar and Brian in it, I take the one with cupcake. You two cower us", Vi said.

‟You don't want to punch people?", Irelia asked amused.

‟Nah..not this time. Need to protect cupcake", Vi answered with a smirk.

‟No problems with that plan", Diana replied. ‟I'm not the best driver anyway." She sighed for a moment, somehow a bit frustrated.

‟Hey, don't be frustrated now!", Vi said with an encouraging smile.

‟She's right. You did it well...", Riven added, and smiled at her. She smiled back, and sighed.

‟Yeah, yeah. Let's do it now", she said, and waved.

‟Can't believe I really do that", Irelia said and got down from her motorbike. ‟Anyway..a rather interesting form of transportation."

‟Alright. We should get some supplies, fuel up, and then execute the plan. Brian and I will get the supplies, you fuel up. We'll be back as soon as we can", Vi said and walked away. She took Brian with her, and left the junkyard.

The three others refilled the motorbikes, with the help of Caitlyn which told them what exactly they had to do. Luckily, the people from the innkeeper left them enough small fuel tanks to refill. While they worked on their bikes, they heard the distant sound of people, and working machinery somewhere within Zaun.

‟Where do we drive to anyway?", Riven asked, while she was tilting the fuel in the tank.

‟The original plan was directly to the League. But, it would take us nearly two or three days from here, even with the bikes. So, we will make a stop in Piltover. From there we take a zeppelin, directly to the League and report in", Caitlyn explained. She drank out of a little bottle, and looked at them. ‟Besides..the direct way to the League, is within Noxus borders. It would be riskier for us."

‟Oh, great...", Diana said sarcastically. ‟I'm forced to use this stuff here, and then taking a zeppelin." She sighed, while she put down one of the fuel tanks. She had some black oil, all over her body, but she wasn't alone. Riven and Irelia didn't look any better. Parts of their clothing were damaged, because of their falls when they failed to drive around a corner, or simply lost control.

‟Hey, when we arrived in Piltover you wanted to use one", Riven replied, and smirked.

‟Gosh..", Diana simply said. ‟These were two different things!"

‟Yeah, yeah. Right", Riven said, amused. ‟So that is enough?"

Caitlyn stood up for a moment, and looked over the instruments. She nodded. ‟That will do it..", she sat down in the side car again, and breathed out.

‟You're alright?", Irelia asked.

‟More or less. But, when we arrive in Piltover I need some rest", Caitlyn answered.

After about half an hour, Vi and Brian came back. Hands full of supplies reaching from food to smaller spare parts. They put it in the sidecars, and everyone got ready to leave. Riven checked if she could easily grab her blade, in case she needed to fight. She cracked her fingers, and neck. She felt excitement. It was like before a battle. Even though this one, would be fought on machines instead of horses. She breathed out, and put on her goggles.

‟So...everything's ready? How do we get out of here anyway?", Irelia asked.

‟On the back of the junkyard there are some side streets we could use. We just need to follow them, until we reached one of the entrances to Zaun. Then we will break through, and then..well. We better get going", Brian said.

Riven felt Diana's hand on her shoulder, and looked to her. She smiled. ‟Last trial, huh?", she said.

‟Yeah...hopefully it will be fine", Riven replied and smiled back, even though she never felt like this. It was like the first day, after she received her sword. The blacksmith told her some of the magical powers, but even after years she hasn't fully learned everything. This was somehow similar. Someone told her, how to use it and then she should use it in a real battle. Without longer or proper training. 'Anyway..no turning back now..', she thought.

‟Alright. Let's...get going", Riven said, and the sound of four starting motors filled the air.

Diana and Brian were at the front, after them Irelia and Riven, and the back was saved by Vi with Caitlyn. Riven looked around, while they slowly drove through the side streets. Only a few of the people took notice of them, most others just tried not to stay in their way. 'Good', she thought, and checked her goggles, which sat perfectly on her nose.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the 'gates' of Zaun. Soldiers and even some bioforge soldiers stood around and checked everyone who wanted in or out. Luckily, here was some sort of street for carriages and other vehicles, so no civilians would stand in their way. Diana grabbed her sword with one hand. She would use her magic, to blow up the barricades.

‟Ready?", she asked.

‟Fuck...let's go", Riven said and shook her head. She still didn't believe it. Diana and the rest of the group accelerated to the maximum, and drove with high speed in the direction of a small barricade. They saw how some soldiers pointed at them with guns or something like this.

‟Out of the way!", Diana yelled, drew her sword with one fluid movement and swung it. Bolts of moonlight blew up the whole barrier, and with a loud noise they just burst through the remains of it. They heard some gunshots, and Riven even heard some metallic noises, as the bullets hit the armored parts of her bike.

The land before them now, was more or less nothing more than plains. Only a few smaller mountains, stones, and so on were on their way. They drove on something, which looked like it was a street a rather long time ago. Riven felt the wind on her face, and somehow she grinned. She looked down at the instruments. 50...55...Vi explained that it meant 'miles per hour'. 'Fifty-five miles in one hour...only magic is faster', Riven thought.

Somehow...she enjoyed this. The feeling of the wind, the high speed and the adrenaline within her, the mountains and smaller things which they passed in a blink of an eye. 'So...this is what they call...freedom huh?', she thought amused.

Suddenly she heard other noises. Riven looked over her shoulder. ‟We got company!", she yelled. At least twelve other motorbikes chased them. A giant dust cloud was behind them. She heard the faint sound of gunshots, even though the bullets didn't hit them. She slowed down a bit, together with Irelia to cover the rear of their group.

‟Alright! Let's take them out!", Vi yelled. Riven saw how the injured Caitlyn took out her sniper rifle, and turned around. Aiming down at their chasers. A gunshot was heard, and as Riven looked back once more, one of their chasers was nowhere to see.

‟We'll take them out in close combat!", she yelled and slowed down even more. Irelia was directly beside her.

‟Be careful there!", she heard Diana's voice, which held her blade in her left hand. Even Brian got ready, with his sword and knives.

Riven drew her blade and hold it with one hand. Luckily, she didn't need to steer much in this wasteland. She was happy about the goggles, otherwise she wouldn't be able to see even a bit right now. ‟I'll take left!", she yelled to Irelia.

‟Alright. I got the right side!", Irelia yelled back, and steered a bit more to the right side, while slowing down.

Riven herself leaned a bit left, so that there was enough space between them. Riven heard other gunshots, and even heard how one of their chasers went down again. Most likely Caitlyn which shoot back. 'This will be..interesting', Riven thought.

Then she was surrounded. Left of her was one of the Zaunite soldiers, on the right side another one. They wore a more or less light outfit, their weapons were some pistols, some brass knuckles, which looked like someone could parry even Mundo's cleaver with that, and a short sword.

‟Sorry..don't have time for games", she yelled and releases a Ki Burst to the left soldier. He lost control over his bike for a moment and drifted to the left, which bought her enough time to parry an attack from the other soldier, which attack her with his brass knuckles. She shortly saw some electricity.

They exchanged a few attacks and parries with each other. While their weapons were stuck with each other, Riven saw how he took away his second hand from the handlebars and tried to get his gun. Riven didn't waste much time. She released the runic energy in a strong Ki Burst, which was more or less like a smaller version of her wind slash.

She heard how the man cursed, as he lost control over his bike. She accelerated more, to get away from him, as he fell over to one side. No need that he take her with him. Riven had a moment to look at Irelia, which handled herself pretty well against two other chasers. One of them went down, as one of her blades hit him in the back. Her weapons were rather deadly, in a fight like this.

Riven looked forward for a moment. She leaned to her left side, as she spotted how a rock came closer. She barely avoided it. She breathed out, before she suddenly felt some pain in her right side. She looked down for a moment. 'Graze shot?', she thought as she spotted some blood. 'Focus on the street...no time for this.'

‟Stop! Now!" She heard how one of the soldiers yelled, as he got closer to her. He didn't even try to engage her in close combat, and instead rammed the backside of her own bike, with his front wheel. She nearly lost control for a moment, before she found the balance again. She heard the sound of gunfire again, which luckily, missed her.

‟Okay..now they start to annoy me", she said to herself. She concentrated for a moment, and finally held her fully assembled sword in one hand. Her chaser which shot at her was left, directly in sight. She didn't waste much time, and released a wind slash. The wave of energy hit the side of his bike, and let him fall over the side.

Other chasers were closing in. She heard how bullets, were blocked by her sword. She looked behind her. From the once twelve soldiers only six remained. Two of them were busy with Irelia, while the four others avoided them both and tried to catch up with Vi and Diana.

‟Oh no..not with me!", Riven yelled and accelerated. She was close to the end of the display, which was a 70. She eventually got closer to them, as they adjust their speed to the slower bikes of Diana, and Vi.

Even though her intervention wasn't really needed. Diana took one of the chasers out, by simply impaling him with bolts of lunar energy. He fell from his bike, which now uncontrolled nearly hit the sidecar in which Brian sat. Riven heard the curses from him.

‟Need help?!", Riven yelled and releases another wind slash, which hit the back wheel of the other chaser and nearly destroyed half of his motorbike. He jumped off in panic, and landed in the dust of the plains.

‟Thanks!", Diana yelled back and grinned.

Caitlyn and Vi did well, too. Riven saw how one of their chasers went down, as a bullet hit him in his chest. The other one struggled with Vi in hand to hand combat, before the stronger Piltover enforcer punched him in his face multiple times. He nearly lost control over his bike. A blade from the closer coming Irelia ended the short fight.

‟Everyone down?", Diana yelled at them.

‟Yeah most likely. The ones who survived, won't follow us", Riven yelled back. They drove in a line now, while Riven and Irelia took the outside.

‟Boom baby! That was damn cool! I guess they will not come again!", Vi yelled euphoric. ‟And you're being such a pessimist Ms. Hoverblade! You fought, like you were born on wheels!"

‟I really should take one of these things with me...", Irelia replied and laughed.

‟Nice fighting ladies! Now could we get to Piltover? I don't want to eat more dust!", Brian complained, with a smirk.

‟Alright. Let's get going! Don't want to waste any more time here!", Riven exclaimed, and earned loud approval from the others. She felt...great. 'Well...that was an experience I will never forget', she thought and smirked.

With high speed they drove over the large plains of the Zaun's countryside. And with every moment, they finally got closer to a more friendly city-state.


End file.
